


I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire: A Fallout 3 & Fallout 4 Story

by TheSoleWookieCourier



Category: Fallout 3, Fallout 4
Genre: Deathclaws, Diamond City, Dugout Inn, Explicit Language, F/M, Natick (Fallout), Sexual Content, Super Mutant Behemoth (Fallout), The Commonwealth
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-03
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:47:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21663169
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSoleWookieCourier/pseuds/TheSoleWookieCourier
Summary: Years before the Sole Survivor exited Vault 111, there was another legend of the wastes that left his mark on the Commonwealth. Set between the events of Fallout 3 and Fallout 4, this story explores the adventures of the Lone Wanderer after the activation of Project Purity. Along the way, we meet some familiar characters and explore their experiences leading up to Fallout 4.The idea for this story was inspired by a theory video by VinylicPumaGaming (linked here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk7FPBHZkDE&t=3s )
Relationships: Lone Wanderer/Piper Wright
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. A Warm Bostonian Welcome

Luke Williams lowered the binoculars from his eyes and looked across the blasted out cityscape of Boston and shuddered. The post-apocalyptic metropolitan jungle was far more dense than any part of the Capital Wasteland, and that density reminded Williams all too vividly of Vault 101 and the other vaults of the Capital. While he had been raised in Vault 101, it had always felt far too claustrophobic and antiseptic.

With a groan and a creak from his knees, Luke crouched down on the roof of the building he stood on. In the skies colored orange from the light setting sun, he surveyed the surrounding area. He had a good enough vantage point to defend himself if he had to. The roof he was on was far enough from the other building that jumping to it was a foolish idea, and there was only one door onto the roof. Nodding in approval to himself, Luke decided that this was where he was going to stay for the night.

Luke dropped his knapsack as he stood up. He began to set up his campsite for the night, unhooking his sleeping roll from the pack. Taking a glance at the sky, he decided to forego the thick wool blanket in the bag. Instead, he rooted around in the bag, removing a can of cram and a bottle of Nuka-Cola. His hand brushed a small, round object as he did so, which caused him to pause. He then grasped the object and pulled it out.

It was a compact make-up mirror made from a sturdy metal, painted in Vault-Tec blue. It featured an embossed Vault-Tec logo painted in yellow. On the back, there was a name engraved into the metal: _Amata Almodovar_. Luke suddenly felt a lump form in his throat. He swallowed hard, opening the lid.

His reflection was a sight to see. His light brown hair was dirty and matted and stuck out from underneath his wide-brimmed hat. Dirt and grime coated his face, which made him look even more tired than he already did while highlighting the scar that ran across his right cheek and up the center of his forehead and the burn mark on his left temple. While he looked like a wreck, his blue eyes shone with alertness and intelligence.

Luke closed the mirror and held it for a moment, thinking on the last time he had seen Amata, when she had told him that even though he had saved Vault 101, he was to never return. Screwing his eyes shut, he shook his head and roughly returned the mirror to his bag. He then picked up the food he had removed from his knapsack and began to eat. Midway through the meal, he activated his Pip-Boy radio. He vainly searched for Galaxy News Radio, but knew that he wouldn’t find it. Instead, he found two stations; Diamond City Radio and Classical Radio. Selecting Diamond City Radio, he listened as familiar songs came over the radio. A young man’s haltering voice interrupted the air between songs. While annoying at first, it grew on Luke the more he listened.

“DJ could use some confidence.” he chuckled to himself between bites of his food.

When his meal was finished, Luke slumped down onto his bedroll, resting his head against his pack. He pulled his hat low over his eyes, pulled his sheriff’s duster over himself like a blanket and soon dozed off.

* * *

Luke was awake as the sun began to peek over the horizon. He had slept fitfully, his dreams haunted by memories of ghosts from his past. He started a small fire to bring some of his water rations to a boil to make some coffee and to heat some of the rations he had on his person. The coffee was thin and bitter, but it certainly gave him the kickstart he needed. He quickly wolfed down the InstaMash and Cram he had prepared for his breakfast.

Once breakfast was done, Luke quickly cleaned up camp, making an effort to cover his tracks. While he had a feeling he wasn’t currently being followed, he had run into too many rogue Enclave elements intent on avenging Raven Rock and Adams Air Force Base during his travels to not be cautious. When the cleanliness had reached his level of satisfaction, Luke replaced his sheriff’s duster, hoisted his knapsack to his shoulders, checked that his pistol was in it’s holster, and slung his plasma rifle across his chest. Properly set, Luke made his way off the rooftop.

Progress through the city was surprisingly fast. Luke was grateful that he didn’t have to go crawling through metro tunnels like he did in the Capital Wasteland, but the high-rise buildings also made excellent positions for snipers, mutants, or both to be hiding out. He kept his head on a swivel, doing his best to make sure that nothing could catch him unawares.

As he continued up the street, Luke saw what appeared to be a military checkpoint blocking the road. With his head cocked to the side in confusion, he slowly slung his rifle into a more ready position as he edged slowly forward.

“Hey, you! Stop right there!” a gruff voice called out. It was at this moment Luke realized that the checkpoint in question, while obviously constructed before the war, was manned by several occupants in various degrees of ragtag uniforms. He stopped, slowly moving his trigger finger inside the trigger guard.

“I suggest you put your weapon away and slowly come over here with your hands in the air.” the voice called out. Luke resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

“And if I don’t?” He called back, his voice tinged with exhausted sarcasm. There was a crack as someone behind the barricade loosed off a shot, the bullet striking mere inches from Luke’s feet.

 _So these guys are better shots than the average raider._ Luke made a mental note of the situation, slowly placing his plasma rifle away from a ready position, raising his hands in the air. He began to again approach the barricade, his eyes scanning to make sure he wasn’t about to be ambushed.

As he approached, two men exited from behind the barricade, laser rifles in hand. Both were dressed in what appeared to be old pre-war military uniforms in various states. Most intriguing though, were the tattoos on each man’s temples. Luke quickly realized that said tattoos were likely the individual’s blood type. Each man grabbed one of the Lone Wanderer’s arms, holding him in a tight grip.

As he was led behind the barricade, he looked around the small encampment, appreciating it for it’s order. The area was fairly neat and clean, with most of the rubble swept away. Sleeping bags were arranged on the ground in two neat rows of four. Several tables were placed at the edges of the barricades, with various weapons and ammo neatly organized on them. An automated turret was facing outward from each corner of the area, humming as their motors swept the barrels over a wide field of fire. _Who are these guys?_ He wondered to himself. _I’ve never seen raiders this organized before._ Before he could piece more information together, the two men gripping his arms forced him to a halt in front of a table in the middle of the camp.

An older man was hunched over the table, a scowl on his face. He appeared to be a man who had spent much time in the elements, as his face had a leathery and worn appearance. A lit cigarette hung from his lips. At first, he did not look up from the documents he was studying. After several moments, he finally looked up, brown eyes completely disinterested in the young man standing in front of him. “And who the hell are you?” he asked, his voice exhausted and curt.

“I’m just a lone wanderer.” Luke replied. “I’m just passing through, exploring and whatnot.” The man stepped out from behind the table, a suspicious look on his face. He scrutinized the younger man more closely. He opened the collar of Luke’s duster, revealing the armored Vault 101 suit underneath. The man cocked an eyebrow in curiosity as he made note of the 101 emblazoned on the collar.

“I see you failed to mention you’re a vaultie, boy. And I know enough that there isn’t a Vault 101 anywhere here in the Commonwealth. Now, where exactly are you from?” The man asked, his voice growing slightly menacing.

Luke shrugged as nonchalantly as he could with his arms still pinned by the two men holding him. “Sorry, sir. I didn’t think that it was important. Now, will you explain who you are if I tell you where I’m from?”

The man holding Luke’s left responded before the older man could. “It don’t work like that, vaultie. We Gunners don’t negotiate, ain’t that right, Ward?” Ward rolled his eyes and sighed, taking a long drag on his cigarette.

“Shut your hole, Louie.” Ward snarled as he exhaled, blowing cigarette smoke in Luke’s face. “Goddamn, I don’t know why they saddled you with me. Go back to your patrol. Clint can hold this dweller here well enough without you.” Louie nodded glumly, releasing Luke’s arm and shuffling off. Ward sighed again and took another drag on his cigarette, this time blowing the smoke away from his captive’s face.

“So, like my incompetent suboordinate stated, we are Gunners. Guns for hire, willing to take on any job. Need a caravan guarded? We can do that. Need a settlement to learn a lesson because they cheated you? We can do that to. No job is too big, no job is too small, and as long as the caps are good, so are our guns.” Ward said, a hint of pride creeping into his voice. He leaned back against the table, crossing his arms across his body. “Now that I’ve told you about who we are, why don’t you tell me about yourself?”

Luke shrugged. “Yeah, that’s fair. My name is Luke Williams, and I’m from the Capital Wasteland. Things got kinda painful for me, so I had to get out. Stopped by Pittsburgh on my way here.” he stated simply.

Ward had an impressed look on his face. “Not bad for a vault dweller. Most of you don’t survive a week, let alone long enough to make that long of a trip.” He paused, noticing the plasma rifle slung over William’s shoulder. “Mind if I take a look at your piece?”

“I’d actually really prefer if you didn’t...” Luke responded. Ward chuckled.

“Wasn’t a question, vaultie.” Ward said tersely. He nodded to the Clint, the man still holding Luke’s arm, who promptly kicked Luke behind the knees, making the young man fall to his knees with a grunt. Clint then reached down and ripped the strap of the rifle, tossing the rifle to his commanding officer. Ward caught the rifle with one hand, inspecting the rifle.

“Now now, what do we have here?” Ward asked. After a few moments, he looked at Luke. “This is a highly modified plasma rifle. I’ve only seen something like this on a dead synth. A dead courser.” Ward stood up, holding the rifle in both hands. “Now… do you care to tell me who you really are?”

Luke looked up at Ward, a look of confusion clearly written on his face. “I told you the truth?” he said slowly with a tone of questioning. Ward chuckled darkly, caressing the plasma rifle in his hands.

“Now I know why you’re so attached to this thing… don’t want your Institute masters deactivating you because you lost your weapon.” Ward hissed. He leveled the rifle at Luke’s face. “Goodbye, synth.”

In one swift motion, Luke withdrew the Blackhawk .44 magnum from his thigh holster and fired up. The bullet slammed into Ward underneath the chin, killing him instantly. Luke rolled out of the way off the falling body, firing again. The bullet struck Clint in the leg, who dropped to the ground with a yelp. As the other Gunners began to be aware that something was going on, Luke grabbed his dropped plasma rifle, holstering his pistol. He then brought the rifle to bear and took stock of his situation as laser bolts and bullets began to fly.

With deadly accuracy, Luke began to pull the trigger of his rifle, ducking behind the table in the center of the compound as needed. After a few minutes, the violence ended. With a shaky exhalation, Luke stood up, sweeping the compound for any more hostiles. Content that he was safe, Luke lowered his weapon.

A groan reached his ears, piercing the ringing that echoed the gunfire. Turning, Luke saw Clint, the Gunner he shot in the leg, attempting to reach a dropped laser pistol. Luke quickly stepped over and kicked the pistol out of reach, pinning Clint’s hand with his other boot as he did so. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” he warned.

“Go to hell, synth.” Clint spat through grit teeth, wincing. Luke crouched down, grinding Clint’s wrist into the ground as he did so, drawing another groan and grimace from the injured Gunner.

“Oh, I’ve been there before. Vault 108, Vault 87, the Pitt? Hell on Earth, pal.” Luke said, his voice low and deadly. “Get it through your unbelievably thick skull that I am not a synth. I was born inside the Jefferson Memorial in DC and raised in Vault 101.” Luke stood up, releasing Clint’s wrist. “Now, here’s what is going to happen. I am going to walk out of here, and you and your Gunner buddies will leave me alone, no matter where you see me in the Commonwealth. Otherwise, I’m going to tear you guys a new one. Understood?”

Clint let out a mirthless chuckle as he sat up, clutching his injured leg. “Like hell, vaultie.” he said, glaring over his shoulder at Luke. “I’m going to let every single Gunner detachment know that I’ll pay good money for your head!”

Luke drew back the stock of his rifle and slammed it into Clint’s head, just behind his ear. The injured Gunner crumpled like a rag doll, out cold. After a few moments, Luke crouched back down. He then removed the Gunner’s belt and used it to create a tourniquet on the unconscious man’s leg. Once he had taken care of the man, he went around the compound, looting the corpses and supply stashes. When he was done, he looked one more time around the compound and continued on, leaving the devastated Gunner camp behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 DEC 2019: Mild post-posting done. Cleaned up some dialogue, etc. If you find anything you think needs to be changed, please let me know!  
> 06 FEB 2020: Fixed some editing mistakes


	2. Diamond City

“Piper, I’m hungry.” Nat complained, her voice groggy. Piper looked up from her typewriter, a pencil between her teeth. She removed the pencil and tucked it behind her ear, stretching. Dark circles underlined the 19-year old’s eyes, making her look much older than her years. She looked at the clock that hung crookedly on the wall. It read 7:18.

“Damn, sis. You’re up earlier than normal.” She responded to the five-year old. She motioned to the little girl, who toddled over and clambered up into her big sister’s lap. Piper wrapped her arms around Nat, who curled into her chest. She stroked Nat’s bedhead, rocking back and forth for a few minutes. “Alright. What do you want for breakfast?”

Nat looked up with a toothy grin. “Fancy Lads!” she said excitedly. Piper laughed as she brushed some hair out of Nat’s face.

“Nice try, Bug.” She scolded playfully. “But a growing girl like you needs something that’s gonna help her grow big and strong.” she said, poking Nat in the chest. Nat pouted, clearly disappointed that her attempt to get sweets for breakfast was so easily rebuffed. Piper laughed and kissed her sister’s forehead. “Alright. I won’t give you Fancy Lads, but are Sugar Bombs good enough?” Nat’s countenance brightened and she nodded enthusiastically. She hopped off of Piper’s lap and dashed towards the kitchen. Piper chuckled and shook her head as she leaned back to look at her typewriter. With a sigh, she stretched again and stood up. Her article could wait.

After breakfast, Piper got Nat dressed for the day before taking a quick shower to get ready herself. With the two of them ready, they stepped out the door into the bustling market of Diamond City.

The two wandered through the market, stopping at several of the various vendors in the market. After a while, the two eventually ended up at the playground located near the shores of the lake. While Nat ran around, playing with several other children, Piper took the opportunity to pull out an old notebook and work on several other articles she had in the pipeline. She kept an eye on her younger sister, occasionally calling out to her to remind her to be safe.

With a sigh, Piper closed her notebook and rubbed her eyes, pinching the bridge of her nose. After a few moments, she looked up. She felt frustrated and worn out. Her writing felt… off, that was the best way to describe it. She felt like she had major writer’s block, and no matter what she did, there was no way she could break it. On top of that, it was taking all of her willpower to keep Nat and the home she had built for the two of them safe. She had received more than her normal amount of death threats and cease and desist letters for a week, with many of them being more and more fouly worded than she had ever seen.

Hearing giggling, Piper looked up to see Nat running around with several other children. A wan smile crossed her face, and for a moment, things seemed alright. Sighing resignedly, Piper leaned back and put her notebook back in her pocket before rooting in her pocket for some gum. She popped a piece in her mouth and watched her sister play.

As dusk began to fall, Piper finally called Nat over to her and the two left. “Can we stop at Power Noodles?” Nat asked. Piper laughed and ruffled Nat’s hair.

“You know that was already the plan, didn’t you, Bug?” Nat smiled a big toothy grin and giggled at her big sister. Piper rolled her eyes sarcastically and picked up the child. “Alright, kiddo. Let’s go get some dinner.”

* * *

The streets of Boston seemed to be less fraught with danger as Luke drew closer to the superstructure marked on his Pip-Boy as Fenway Park. He was grateful for the safety. After his run in with the Gunner outpost, his nerves had been on high alert, with every creak and groan from the ancient metal buildings causing him to be prepared to fight more Gunners, raiders, or worse. Luckily, he had been able to avoid most of the super mutant nests. The gore bags tended to alert him to where they were, which was a bonus. However, Luke was mildly terrified of the creatures that were with them. He figured they were some kind of mutated hound, and he made sure to try and stay downwind from them. However, the sun had begun to make it’s slow descent from its zenith in the sky and he was not eager to spend another night outside of the safety of a settlement.

He felt the tension in his shoulders dissipate as an individual in makeshift armor cobbled from what appeared to be baseball catcher’s pads approached. The individual was cradling a crude firearm in their arms, ready to go at a moment’s notice. At this point, the sound of automated turrets reached Luke’s ears, alerting him to how well defended the building was.

“Excuse me, sir? Can I help you?” the guard called out, a feminine voice echoing down the street. Luke almost stopped in his tracks, his hands reflexively tightening their grip on his plasma rifle. Very rarely did someone asking if they could help him end pleasantly, particularly when it was a woman asking him.

“Er, yeah. I’m looking for a place called Diamond City. You wouldn’t happen to know if I’m close?” Luke called out, slowing his pace from a brisk stride to a walk and forcing himself to lower his weapon ever so slightly. The woman laughed.

“Take a right hand turn and go through about 120 feet of brick, concrete, and steel and you’ll be there. Or you could follow this wall for about 600 more feet and go through the main gate.” By this time, the two were close enough that Luke could make out the woman’s features. She was shorter than him, standing at just over five feet tall. A few wisps of dark brown hair peeked out from underneath the brim of her batting helmet. Bright blue eyes inspected him from behind a pair of eyeglasses. A smattering of freckles ran across the bridge of her nose and cheeks, and a smile lit up her face.

Luke laughed at the joke. “Unfortunately, I’m not a ghost, so it looks like I have to go the long way.” He replied, a grin briefly crossing his face. The guard nodded with another laugh.

“I’m guessing you’re not from around here, huh?” she asked. “Most people in the Commonwealth generally know where the entrance to Diamond City is.” Luke smiled sheepishly.

“Is it that obvious?” he asked. The guard nodded again.

“The vault suit is always a good indication of someone who hasn’t been out in the Wasteland for very long.” Luke tilted his head in recognition and acknowledgement.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before.” he replied, his tone slightly embarrassed. “Luckily, I’ve been out of my vault for a good while now, and I know how to survive out here a little better.” The guard laughed again.

“Well, that’s good. Why don’t I show you to the main gate? Helping a vaultie out is always a treat.” she said, turning on her heel and walking the way she came. Luke started after her, jogging slightly to catch up.

“I’m Officer Cassie Atherton, by the way.” the guard stated, offering her right hand to Luke.

“Williams. Luke Williams” Luke replied, taking her hand in a firm handshake. “Pleasure to meet you, Officer Atherton.”

“Likewise, Mr. Williams. Now, if you’re from a vault and not from around here, where is your vault?” Atherton asked, her tone curious.

“Uh… south.” Luke replied evasively as thoughts of the vault he was forced to leave behind once again came to the forefront of his mind. He could feel himself tense up as Amata crossed his mind again.

“Just south? That’s kinda vague.” Cassie responded jovially. She looked up at Luke and noticed the pained look on his face. She dropped the subject immediately. “I would ask what brings you up north, but that seems too personal, so I’m going to make up some tragic backstory about how your love was taken from you or something like that.” she continued, trying to make the situation light again. Luke scoffed, a dark smile crossing his face.

“Eh, you’re not too far off there. Granted, it is a little more complicated than that, but that is one of the reasons.” he answered, his voice softer. Cassie nodded solemnly.

“I’m sorry.” the female guard replied, her tone softer as well. “I must imagine it must be hard losing someone like that.” Luke just nodded glumly, trying his hardest to keep his face stoic. The pair continued on their walk, both feeling mildly uncomfortable and unsure of how to continue the conversation. They soon rounded the corner, and the massive entrance to Diamond City appeared in their vision.

“How long do you plan on staying in Diamond City?” Cassie asked suddenly, her voice rushed. Luke raised an eyebrow, startled out of his train of thought.

“I’m not entirely sure. Could be as short as a few hours, could be as long as however long my life is.” he responded slowly. “It all depends on what I find inside.”

Cassie smiled a half-smile. “Hopefully it’s for a while. I’d like to get to know your story, Mister Williams.” she said, her voice hopeful. Luke smiled back at her in return.

“I’m never one to turn down friends.” he said, the tone of his voice warming as the pair stopped in front of the entrance of the city. Cassie’s face brightened into a smile.

“Oh good! I’d hate for your impression of Diamond City to be tarnished by an awkward conversation with one Diamond City guard.” Cassie laughed. Luke chuckled.

“Of course. Well… this is my stop. I guess I’ll see you around, Officer Atherton.” Luke said, saluting the officer. Atherton laughed again, returning the salute and beginning to walk away. As soon as the officer was out of sight, Luke turned and began to enter the maw of Diamond City.

As Luke walked into the entrance of the city, he was stopped by three more guards. “Excuse me, sir, but you will have to check your weapons here at our security checkpoint.” One of the guards stated, holding his hand up to stop Luke. The other two guards stepped forward and flanked Luke. Luke raised his arms in a surrender pose again, holding his plasma rifle in his right hand, the barrel pointed at the roof.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what are the rules about weapons here in Diamond City?” Luke asked as the two guards began patting him down for other weapons. The one on his right hand side grabbed the plasma rifle and gently pried it from Luke’s hand. It took every ounce of Luke’s self control to not fight back against the guards to take the rifle back.

“Large weapons, such as rifles and shotguns are not allowed within the city. Energy weapons are also not permitted, unless they are being sold or traded. The same goes for explosives.” the lead guard responded resignedly.

“So in other words, I’m only allowed to have small ballistic weapons. Just my pistol?” Luke asked, suddenly beginning to feel uneasy.

“That’s correct. Knives are also allowed, so long as they do not exceed a certain blade length. Your weapons will be placed here in our secure lockdown. You can retrieve them when you leave.” the guard replied. Hesitantly, Luke slung his knapsack off and opened it and began removing his weapons from it, assembling his shotgun and sniper rifle before handing them to the guards. He then removed the grenade satchel and handed it off. He watched as the guards then placed his plasma rifle, shotgun, sniper rifle and explosives in a locker, sealing the locker. “What name do I put on the manifest?”

“Luke Williams.” Luke replied, trying to ignore the feeling of being naked without most of his weaponry.

With the weapons locker sealed, the lead guard waved Luke through the portal. “Mister Williams, welcome to Diamond City.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 DEC 2019: Mild post-posting done. Cleaned up some dialogue, etc. If you find anything you think needs to be changed, please let me know!


	3. Two Conversations

The best way to describe the initial sight of Diamond City was dazzling. The spectrum of color in the central hub of the city was unlike any other city Luke had seen. He had never seen so much color in a city, not in Rivet City, and certainly not in the Pitt. He stood there, his mouth agape at the sight. He rubbed his eyes before shaking his head and continuing down the stairs.

The marketplace was bustling with activity, vendors calling out, trying to hawk their wares. Several robots ambled about, some of them acting as security, others mixing with the crowd. Luke laughed in amazement, drinking in the sights of the bustle. The city felt alive in a way that was hard to describe. It wasn’t cramped like Rivet City or derelict like the Pitt. It was a nice change in scenery.

“I, uh, take it you’re not from around here, are you?” asked a female voice from behind Luke. He turned on his heel to see a young woman roughly his age holding a toddler in her arms. Her hazel eyes had a warm sparkle, and a smile creased her face. Her black hair was pulled back into a ponytail underneath a cap.

Luke chuckled, embarrassed by being called out for being a vault dweller. “Let me guess, the vault suit gave it away?” The woman laughed.

“Sorry, Blue, but yeah. The vault suit gives it away.” she responded, gesturing with her elbow. Luke raised an eyebrow in curiosity.

“Blue?” he asked.

“Sorry. It’s the blue jumpsuit. And the nickname ‘Blue’ isn’t as rude calling you a vaultie.” the woman replied. At this point, the little girl in the woman’s arms whimpered.

“Piper, I’m hungry.” she said, nuzzling her face more into the crook of the woman’s neck.

“I’m sorry, Bug. Let’s go get some food.” the woman comforted, patting the young girl’s back. She turned back to Luke. “Well, it was nice to meet you, Blue. I’ll see you around.” And with that, she brushed past Luke and continued through the crowd. As she passed Luke, he couldn’t help but notice her perfume: she smelled like hubflowers and fern, mixed the smell of stale cigarettes. The scent lingered in his nostrils, and he found it mildly intoxicating.

Shaking his head, Luke decided to continue exploring the marketplace. However, many of the shops were beginning to close, leaving his options very limited. He made note of the various shops and their locations as he followed the ring around the center of the marketplace. He worked his way around the place in a counter-clockwise direction. As he approached the entrance of the marketplace, he noticed the sign for an establishment called The Dugout Inn. After pausing for a moment, he made his way towards the door before entering.

The place was dimly lit, with the smell of alcohol, unwashed bodies, and various food smells heavy in the air. There were several patrons already in the building, some slumped over the bar, others in various chairs and couches that littered the room. Luke began making his way towards the bar located at the back of the room. A large man stood behind the bar, doling out the various requests for alcohol and food. Luke sat down at the bar, groaning slightly in comfort as he was off his feet. He removed his knapsack and placed it at the foot of his barstool before slumping forward, resting his forearms on the bar. The bartender approached him, cleaning a glass.

“Hello, my friend!” he said in a thick Russian accent. “Welcome to The Dugout Inn. I am Vadim Bobrov, and I am one of the owners of this fine establishment. Now, how can I help you?”

“I’m looking for a room to rent for at least a couple days. How much for a room?” Luke asked, reaching into the interior pocket of his duster and withdrew a pouch full of caps.

“Ah, then you will need to speak to my brother, Yefim. He is the one in charge of renting out rooms. I am a simple barkeep.” Vadim responded, placing the clean glass on the bar, wiping his hands clean on the apron around his waist. Luke nodded.

“Alright. Well, then do you know somewhere I could buy some food?” he asked. Vadim laughed and pulled a battered menu out from underneath the bar.

“Then I am the one to talk to! All prices are fair for good, home cooked meal. And all of it goes well with our home brewed moonshine, Bobrov’s Best!” Vadim replied to the weary traveller, winking at the mention of the alcohol. “I give you a few minutes to make a decision, my friend.” he finished, walking away to service another patron. Luke browsed the menu, feeling his stomach churn in appreciation at the thought of food other than the rations he had been eating for several weeks. After several minutes, Vadim circled back to Luke. “Have you made a decision?”

Luke looked up from the menu and nodded. “Yeah, I think I am. I think I’ll have the brahmin steak with a Nuka-Cola.” Vadim nodded appreciatively.

“Good choice. I will get the cook working on it.” he said as he pulled a Nuka-Cola from under the bar and placed it in front of Luke. “Why don’t you go and speak with my brother while your meal is being prepared.” He gestured to a man with similar features who was working at a desk across the room before turning and heading towards what Luke assumed was the kitchen.

Luke opened the Nuka-Cola in front of him and took a swig, putting the bottle cap in the pouch of caps he had left on the bar before putting the pouch in one of the pockets on the exterior of his duster. With the drink in his hand, he stood up and made his way to the other Bobrov brother, leaving his knapsack on the floor. “I hear you are the man I need to talk to about a room.” he said as soon as he was in earshot over the din of the bar. The other man looked up from his work.

“Yes, I would be the man to talk to about a room.” he replied, his Russian-accented voice weary. “I am Yefim, and I’m sure you met my brother, Vadim.” Luke nodded. “The rate is ten caps a night, paid up front.” Luke nodded again and withdrew his pouch of caps from his pocket. He quickly counted out thirty caps and placed them on the desk in front of Yefim. After he finished double counting the caps placed in front of him, Yefim unlocked a drawer in his desk, opened it, and withdrew another key. “Your room will be down this hall, third door on your left.” he said, handing the key to Luke.

“Thank you, sir.” Luke responded gratefully, taking the key. Yefim nodded tiredly and went back to his work. Luke made his way back to his barstool, slowly nursing his drink. When his meal was delivered, he ate quickly, his appetite winning over his rational thought of savoring his food. Once the meal had been devoured, exhaustion slammed into him in a wave. He groggily dropped the caps to pay for his meal on the bar and grabbed his knapsack. He slowly made his way to the room he was renting, unlocking it with the key that Yefim had given him. 

The room was small, with nothing but a single bed, a small bedside table, and a chair. “Home sweet home.” He said to himself. While the room did not look like much, it was the most luxurious he had seen for several weeks and he was not going to complain. He dropped his knapsack by the door with a thud and collapsed into the chair. He wearily untied his boots, tossing them so be close to the bed. He then removed his duster, exposing his armored vault suit. He let out a small laugh as he thought on all of the conversations he had had about wearing the suit during his day. He removed the greaves from his shins, followed by the pauldron on his left shoulder. His fingertips brushed against a logo embossed into the leather. He sat there for a moment, looking at the emblem for the Brotherhood of Steel sunk into the leather, feeling the ridges and grooves. 

He shook his head and dropped the armor to the floor. The combat armor on his right arm was next, dropping it to the floor with a clatter. He unbuckled the bandolier across his chest, and he hung it over the back of the chair, which was soon followed by his hat. He stood up and walked over to the bed, sitting down there. He collapsed on the bed, listening to the bed springs squeak in protest. It wasn’t the most comfortable bed, but it certainly beat the bedroll he had been using. He reached down and undid the clasp that held his pistol in the holster on his thigh, removing the revolver, leaving his combat knife in it’s sleeve holster. He opened the chamber, making sure the weapon was loaded before he put it on the bedside table. Sighing in a combination of exhaustion and relaxation, Luke closed his eyes, letting sleep overtake him.

* * *

Luke slept through the night and through most of the next day. As he awoke, he had a raging headache and his body felt tense. He sat up slowly, wincing as the pain in his head increased.

“Guess that’s what I get for oversleeping.” He muttered to himself, squeezing his eyes shut. While he had slept better than he had been able to for a long time, his nightmares still came back to haunt him. He did not know if it was because he was inside or not, but his dreams had been fraught with visions of Vault 87 and the Steelyard of the Pitt. Even now, as he was waking, the lingering images from his dreams floated across his vision.

“Get out of there.” he growled at the offending visions. “Get the fuck out of my head.” He opened his eyes, and the offending images disappeared. 

He stood up suddenly, ignoring the black spots that appeared in front of his eyes and the squeezing feeling of his headache that accompanied the sudden movement. He shakily grabbed his pistol off the nightstand and jammed it into it’s holster. His hands latched onto his boots and he stuffed his feet in them, dropping to one knee to tie them. He quickly grabbed his duster and hat, placing the latter on his head as he exited the room, leaving his armor in the room.

As he rushed out of The Dugout Inn, Luke was furious at himself. He didn’t understand why he could not get the horrors he had seen out of his head. They came and they went, but seemed to be more frequent as time went on. He angrily pulled his duster over his jumpsuit, and shoved his hands into his pockets.

He began wandering around the city with no real destination in mind. He mindlessly browsed the wares of multiple shops, nothing really catching his interest. He finally wound his way into the stands, sitting in one of the decrepit seats. He pulled out his pistol and and mindlessly began disassembling it, cleaning every single piece thoroughly. It seemed to be one of the few things that helped ground him after a bad night.

“Rough night?” came a woman’s voice from behind Luke as he finished assembling his weapon. He spun around, bringing the weapon into a firing stance. The owner of the voice was the woman he had met in the market. She had her hands raised, palms open towards Luke. She chuckled. “Don’t worry, Blue. I’m not going to do anything to you. I promise.”

Luke lowered the weapon slightly, trying to force himself to relax. “Do you tend to sneak up on people?” He asked, trying to make his tone light and cheery. The woman laughed.

“I promise I don’t do it on a normal basis.” She replied. “But a stranger in the stands by himself warrants as much advantage as possible. Ya never know if they’re up to something nefarious.” She stepped closer to Luke. “I’m Piper. Piper Wright.” She offered her hand to Luke. After a second, Luke holstered his pistol and took the offered hand.

“Williams. Luke Williams.” He replied, still trying to relax. Piper smiled.

“Luke. I like that name. Very biblical.” Piper responded. “Mind if I sit next to you?” she asked, gesturing to one of the seats next to Luke. Luke shrugged.

“Free wasteland.” he muttered as he turned back to look out over the city. Piper sat down, apparently ignoring Luke’s sarcasm. She lounged in her seat, pulling a pack of gumdrops out of her pocket. She popped one into her mouth.

“So… What brings you to Diamond City, Blue? I wanted to ask you yesterday when we bumped into each other in the marketplace, but I had more important responsibilities come up.” she asked around her gumdrop as she replaced the pack of gumdrops into her pocket and withdrawing a small notepad and pencil. Luke cocked an eyebrow.

“What are you, some kind of reporter?” he asked gruffly. Piper chuckled, and Luke felt himself relax slightly. Something about her personality seemed to disarm Luke’s tension.

“You’re a smart one, Blue. Yeah, I’m the head reporter for the local newspaper here in Diamond City, Publick Occurrences. I try to bring the truth out there to the people here.” she replied, her tone becoming bitter.

Luke cast a sideways look at Piper, mildly surprised by the tone of her voice. Her face had hardened into a slight grimace. He turned back to look over the city. “It sounds like people out here don’t want to hear the truth.”

Piper barked a sneering chuckle. “Normally, when I pull out a notebook, people tend to run the other way, thinking that talking to a reporter will give them some kind of disease. No, people down there would much rather stick their heads in the ground, pretending that everything is just fine.” she said darkly. “And when I do publish the truth, that’s when the threats start pouring in, accusing me of lying.” she spat.

Luke sat in his seat for a few moments, slightly stunned by the outburst from the young woman. He found himself becoming more tense, and slowly began inching his hand towards the grip of his pistol as the silence dragged on.

“So…” Piper drawled, slowly opening her notebook. “What brings you to The Great Green Jewel of the Commonwealth, Mister Williams?” Luke rolled his eyes and leaned back into his seat again, withdrawing his combat knife from its sheath.

“What is it with everyone in this town wanting to know why I’m here?” he grumbled as he began inspecting the blade of the knife. “Y’all act like I’m some derranged lunatic who is going to kill every single one of you.” At this comment, it was Piper’s turn to be shocked.

“Either you just recently crawled out of your vault, or you’re really not from around here.” she said, bewilderment apparent in her voice. She leaned forward, her gaze locked on Luke. “Have you never heard of the Broken Mask Incident?”

Luke shook his head. “Can’t say that I have.” he offered. Piper studied him, her face studious. After a moment, she leaned back in her chair.

“Have you… have you ever heard of a synth?” Piper asked after a further moment. Luke felt a thrill of panic run through him.

“What’s a synth?” he asked, forcing his voice to stay steady.

“A synth is an android. A robot, designed to look, think, and act like you and I.” Piper responded. Luke feigned a look of confusion, and Piper seemed to buy it. She continued. “Back in 2229, a man came here to Diamond City. Called himself Carter. He sat at Power Noodles down there and was very popular among the people there. After a couple hours, something changed. He pulled out a revolver and shot the bartender, point-blank in the face. Went on a rampage and killed a couple more. Diamond City Security got there as fast as they could. When they inspected him, they found he wasn’t… well, human. Had real enough flesh, but everything underneath was metal, gears, and wirings.”

Piper turned to Luke. “So yeah… you can kinda see why people tend to be a little leery of strangers.” Luke nodded slowly.

“Well, I promise you that I’m not a synth.” he stated simply. Piper’s eyebrows lifted in mock surprise.

“That’s exactly what a synth would say.” she said, her tone noticeably more jovial. Luke snorted.

“You’ve got me there.” he chuckled. The mood felt a little lighter, and the two sat in a mildly awkward, yet comfortable silence.

“So where are you really from, Blue?” Piper asked yet again. Luke sighed, a mixture of exhaustion, annoyance, and mock defeat in his tone.

“How honest do you want me to answer?” he asked the reporter.

“Preferably, completely.” Piper quipped as she leaned forward in her seat, opening her notebook. Luke chuckled and shook his head.

“Alright. I’m from the Capital Wasteland. I was born out in the wastes, but my father got the two of us into one of the vaults down there.”

“And what about your mother?” Piper asked, not looking up from her notebook as she wrote, the sound of pen scratching on paper somehow amplified. Luke shrugged.

“I never knew her. She died pretty soon after giving birth to me. Dad talked a little bit about her, but it was always super difficult for him.” Luke replied, his voice almost indifferent. He prayed internally that Piper didn’t see through his charade. The sounds of writing stopped, and Piper looked up from her work.

“I’m sorry, Blue. I know how hard it is, losing a parent.” she replied, her tone soft. On an impulse, she reached out and patted Luke’s hand, giving it a little squeeze of comfort before quickly drawing it away. She didn’t know why she had done that, and she felt her face reddening. She cleared her throat. “So if your dad got you into the vault, way down in the Capital Wasteland, then why are you here in Diamond City? And what vault were you in again?”

“Vault 101. And the reason I’m out is because of my old man.” Luke scoffed, scowling at the bustle of the city below. “I lived in that vault for nineteen years, and dad never once thought it was necessary to tell me the truth. He told me that we were descendents from those original vault dwellers, that we’d been born in the vault and that we would die in the vault.”

Piper scrutinized Luke closely. “I take it things aren’t that great between you and your dad?” She noticed a change in demeanor in Luke.

“That’s… a tough one to answer.” He responded slowly. “I woke up one day to the vault security system blaring an emergency alarm. My dad had left the vault, which sent the whole place into disarray. I had to leave the vault before vault security got a hold of me. I found myself in the Capital Wasteland, alone with nothing but the vault suit on my back, my Pip-Boy, and a ten millimeter pistol. Long story short, I had to try and find my dad. So, I set out across the remains of D.C. to find him. That’s when I found out why he had left.”

“What was that?” Piper probed. Luke took a moment and scanned the city. After a moment, Luke pointed to a building on the shores of the artificial lake.

“That.” he stated. Piper laughed.

“That specific building?” she jested, and a wan smile crossed Luke’s face.

“Not that specific building, but something like it. A water purifier, but on a far greater scale, large enough to purify all of the water in the Capital Wasteland; Project Purity.” The smile on Piper’s face quickly evaporated and was replaced with a look of confusion.

“Wait, you’re kidding?!” she asked, her voice incredulous. “How?!”

“The purifier was built into an Old World building called the Jefferson Memorial. Using some Vault-Tec tech, it was able to remove all radiation and toxins from the water in the tidal basin. Free, clean water for everyone in the Capital. It was mom’s dream, and dad was the lead scientist on the project. He abandoned it after mom’s death, but it was always in the back of his mind, I guess. One day, he finally decided to go back to Project Purity and get it running.”

Piper was riveted to her seat. “Wait a minute… You’re the Lone Wanderer?” She asked, her tone reverent. Luke sighed heavily as he rolled his eyes.

“How did you know that little moniker?” He intoned wearily, rubbing his eyes.

“Come on, Blue. You’re not the only person to come up to the Commonwealth from the Capital Wasteland. Any reporter worth her caps would talk to any stranger she meets.” She said, a devilish grin on her face. Luke scoffed again.

“So what tall tales have you heard about me?” He inquired, tone a mixture of exhaustion and curiosity.

“Just that you started the purifier, that you helped make the Capital the safest it’s been in a long time.” The reporter responded, her tone still reverent. “You’re a hero, Blue.” Luke laughed humorlessly.

“Hardly. More like I was the only one who would solve the damn problem.” He stood up, placing his left hand in the pocket of his duster as he tipped his hat with the other. “I’ll see you around, Miss Wright.”

Piper looked up as the Lone Wanderer stalked away. “I’ll see you around, Mister Williams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 17 DEC 2019: Mild post-posting done. Cleaned up some dialogue, etc. If you find anything you think needs to be changed, please let me know!
> 
> 06 FEB 2020: More editing mistakes fixed


	4. A Familiar Job

The next several days passed without much incident. Luke spent much of his days exploring the settlement, trying to take in as much as he could. He also made it a point to avoid Publick Occurrences as much as he could. For some reason he didn’t quite understand himself, the idea of seeing Piper brought both butterflies to his stomach and a chill of danger to his stomach at the same time.

As Luke entered the marketplace one day, he noticed a large corkboard. He was surprised that he had missed seeing when he first explored the city. He approached the board, browsing the notices. One in particular caught his eye, and he pulled it down. He stared at it before folding it up and pocketing it. He was soon standing outside an establishment named Colonial Taphouse. A Mister Handy robot floated in front of the entrance to the patio.

“I’m sorry, sir, but we don’t allow the staff to enter in view of the patrons.” the robot sneered in a clipped English accent. One of it’s photo-receptor eyes turned to look at Luke, the other two focusing on other tasks.

“Excuse me?” Luke asked, taken aback by the hostility from the robot.

“Oh, I’m sorry. You look far too dirty to be one of our staff. I’ll have to turn you away, riffraff.” the robot replied, his tone annoyed and indifferent. It waved it’s manipulator claw dismissively, attempting to dismiss the young man as it’s third photo-receptor turned away to focus on the robot’s work. Luke bristled at the brusqueness of the machine.

“Look here, you metallic jack-ass; I’m here for your job offer.” he growled, pulling the flyer from his pocket. The robot bobbed slightly higher, two of its eyes swiveling towards Luke, scanning up and down.

“Well, I suppose that rabble can be of some use.” the robot muttered as he turned towards Luke. “Well, the terms are there on the flyer. 200 caps once the job is complete.”

“I get that, tin can. What’s the job?” Luke asked, his voice tired. 

“Deathclaw eggs. 200 caps per egg.” the Mister Handy replied.

“Well, then, you’d better be paying more than 200 caps an egg. I’m not risking my ass by going into a deathclaw nest for that little. I won’t do it for any less than 1000.” Luke replied, scowling at the robot.

“Three hundred.” the robot said curtly, rising slightly on its thruster.

“One. Thousand.” was the response from Luke, every word enunciated.

“Four.”

Luke sighed in exasperation, crossing his arms across his chest and deepening his scowl.

“Fine. Five hundred, and that’s my final offer. Take it, or leave it.” the robot’s tone of voice was beginning to border on anger.

Luke sighed once again, weighing his options. “Fine. 500 caps it is.” He extended his hand to the robot. “Williams.”

The robot made a sniffing noise from it’s voice module before gingerly taking the offered handshake in it’s manipulator claw. “Wellingham. Now, run along, and don’t come back until you have at least one deathclaw egg.” And with that, the Mister Handy turned floated back towards the Colonial Taphouse.

Luke turned and began making his way down the stairs towards the entrance of Diamond City.

“Hey there, Blue!” came Piper’s voice from behind him. Luke froze in his tracks, feeling tension build in his back. “It feels like you’ve been avoiding me for a few days.” she continued. Luke grit his teeth and turned around to face the reporter.

“Hello, Miss Wright.” he replied, using every ounce of willpower to not be snide. “I promise I haven’t been avoiding you. I’ve just been… busy.” He finished unconvincingly. Piper raised an eyebrow, seeing right through Luke’s lie.

“Busy doing what?” she asked, nonchalantly leaning against the railing that ran around the patio of the Colonial Taphouse.

“Good Lord, are you always this nosy?” Luke muttered under his breath. “Finding some work. I’m not made of caps, you know.” he said to Piper’s face. “As a matter of fact, I’m on my way out of town now to do a job.”

“Oh? Mind if I tag along?” Piper asked, her eyes lighting up. Luke looked at the reporter with an impressed look.

“I guess there’s no way of shaking you, is there?” he sighed with a hint of grudging respect.

“I said you were a smart one, Blue, and I meant it.” Piper grinned smugly. “We’ll stop off at Publick Occurrences for me to grab some gear.” With that, she stood up straight and walked past Luke, winking at him. Luke, in turn, rolled his eyes once she was past him.

As they drew closer to the Publick Occurrences building, Piper turned to Luke. “Come on in. I promise the Bug doesn’t bite.” Before Luke could ask what she meant, Piper stepped into the building. From inside, Luke could hear a little girl squealing in delight mixed with Piper’s laugh. After a moment, Piper called out to Luke. “You don’t have to stay out in the cold, Blue! Come in!” Luke gingerly entered the building, unsure of what would greet him on the other side.

Piper was down on one knee, tickling a young girl who bore a strong resemblance to the reporter. The young girl was giggling like a hyena, vainly struggling to prevent the tickle onslaught. However, when she saw Luke standing in the doorway, she instantly stopped laughing and shied away, trying to hide behind Piper. For his part, Luke smiled uncomfortably, vainly struggling to make the situation less awkward. Piper glanced over her shoulder. She let out a small chuckle.

“C’mon, Blue, she doesn’t bite. Isn’t that right, Bug?” she joked, turning to the young girl, who at this point, popped her head out from behind Piper, scowling at Luke. She then made a gap-toothed bite motion towards the Lone Wanderer before sticking her tongue out at him and snuggling back into Piper’s shoulder. Piper laughed again, standing upright and walked back towards the door.

“Natalie, this is my new friend, Luke. Say hello.” Piper chided, patting Nat’s back. Nat groaned and tried to snuggle deeper into Piper’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, Blue. She’s normally not like this.”

Luke cleared his throat uncomfortably. “It’s no big deal, I promise. Nice to meet you, Natalie.” This was met with another groan from Nat. Piper cooed and snuggled Nat a little more.

“It’s alright, Bug. He’s not gonna hurt you.” she whispered in the young girl’s ear. “But Luke and I have to go work on something together. Can you go get your stuff together to spend the night with Miss Edna?” Nat perked up and nodded vigorously before hopping down from Piper’s arms and dashing off. Piper smiled at the retreating child’s back before turning to her guest. “She won’t be long. Let me grab my stuff.” She then stepped over to her desk and began rummaging through it’s drawers. Luke diverted his gaze, his face reddening as Piper bent over the desk.

After several moments, Piper straightened up. She had a holstered pistol in one hand, and a key in the other. Grinning, she walked over to the locker near the door and opened it, withdrawing a red leather coat and satchel. She donned the satchel first, followed by her coat.

“There. That should about do it.” she surmised, a bemused smile on her face as she began to strap the pistol to her thigh, pocketing the key. She turned towards where Nat had run off to. “Are you ready, Bug?” she called out.

“Yeah!” Nat responded, appearing from what Luke assumed was the bedroom, struggling with the weight of a bulging knapsack. 

Piper sighed in mock exasperation. “What do you have in the bag, Bug?” she asked, her voice stern as she tried to keep from smiling. “Ya know what, it’s okay. Let’s get you to Miss Edna’s.”

The three of them stepped out of the building, Nat once again in Piper’s arms. They made their way through the city before arriving at a building with a large schoolhouse sign. Piper rapped her knuckles on the metal door. After a few moments, the door opened, revealing a Miss Nanny robot. Luke glowered at the robot, feeling a small wave of resentment wash over him.

“Ah, Miss Piper! And Miss Natalie! ‘Ow can I ‘elp you zees afternoon?” the robot asked in a feminine French accent.

“Hey, Edna. I need a favor…” Piper began, her voice taking on an embarrassed tone.

“Of course! I would be ‘appy to watch Miss Natalie! I ‘ave told you before, zere ees no need to be embarrassed to ask! I thoroughly enjoy watching the young madame.”

“You have to let me pay you. It’s the least I can do.” Piper protested as Nat jumped down from her arms. Edna extended one of her manipulator claws and Nat took it. The robot hovered slightly lower as Nat attempted to wrap her arms around the spherical torso of the robot. The robot then wrapped it’s arm under the girl and lifted her, its thruster firing to lift it higher. One of it’s receptors nuzzled the girl as the other two maintained eye contact with Piper.

“No. I will not ‘ave eet. Eet it my pleasure. Now go. You ‘ave a job, go!” the robot chided, shooing the two adults away and floating back into the school.

Piper turned, eyes locking with Luke’s concerned gaze. She cleared her throat. “So… um, yeah… Edna may have watched Nat more than once…” She cleared her throat again, and Luke could almost swear that he saw tears forming in the reporter’s eyes. “Let’s go.”

After they had stopped by The Dugout Inn to retrieve Luke’s knapsack and armor pieces, the two began to make their way out of the city. As they stopped by the security desk on their way out, Luke was surprised to see Piper check a knapsack out from one of the lockers and sling it over her shoulder. She caught his eyebrows rising and winked. “What? A girl’s gotta protect herself out there, Blue.” Luke shrugged in agreement as he slid the pieces of his shotgun and sniper rifle into their respective mounts inside of the knapsack. As soon as his equipment was in place and his pack was on his back, the two exited the gates and out into the Commonwealth.


	5. Tension Trigger

“So… where are we off to, Mister Williams?” Piper questioned as Diamond City began to blend in with the other buildings.

Luke glanced at the reporter before refocusing his attention on his surroundings. “I don’t know, Miss Wright. You’re the reporter. Know of any places where there has been a deathclaw attack?” Piper’s stopped in her tracks.

“Excuse me… did you say ‘deathclaw’?” she asked, the pitch of her voice rising as she finished her sentence. Luke halted and turned around.

“Yeah, I did. Guess you should have double-checked with me what my job was before you decided to tag along.” Luke replied smugly. Piper rolled her eyes and grunted in frustration.

“You’re right.” she muttered through gritted teeth. Luke grinned falsely.

“You’re a smart one, Blue.” he responded in a mocking tone, throwing her back-handed compliment in her face.

Piper’s punch was completely unexpected, landing hard in Luke’s side, just under his chestplate. It was a solid blow, and it elicited a pained yelp from the Lone Wanderer.

“What the hell was that for?!” Luke barked, his face contorted in pain. Piper’s face could have been set in stone.

“That was to set you straight, Mister Williams. You may be some wasteland legend, but I am not some poor waif who has to rely on you for her protection.” the reporter responded coolly. “Now, I may have been a little persistent in getting you to let me go with you, but I assure you, I intend to watch your back unless you keep being as snarky as you are.”

“Yeah?” Luke challenged, his shoulders tensing as he glared at Piper. “And why exactly did you decide that you would be my new travelling partner?”

“Honestly? I want to hear your story.” Piper stated simply, yet with a tone of earnestness in her voice. “I’ve heard the stories, but I want to hear your perspective.”

Luke sighed after a moment, the tension dissolving in his shoulders. “Look… I never wanted to be a hero, okay? So forget any of the myths you’ve heard about me. I’m just a simple guy who had to fix everyone's mess. Now can we get a move on? The sooner this job is done, the better.”

The pair walked in silence for a while, each wrapped up in their own thoughts. Finally, Piper broke the silence.

“So what exactly is the job?” she asked.

“Deathclaw eggs.” Luke replied curtly.

Piper laughed incredulously. “You mean Wellingham finally found someone who was crazy enough to go on his little shopping trip?” she said in between breaths.  
Luke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “You make it sound like I’ve just been duped.” he intoned wearily as thoughts of violently disassembling the snooty Mister Handy began to run through his imagination.

“No no no.” Piper said, her laughter subsiding. “Wellingham has had that job offer out for months!”

“Then why has no one else taken up the offer?” Luke asked, his curiosity piqued.

“Honestly? It’s because of his… reputation. Everyone thinks he’s an asshole, but he’s really not that bad of a ‘bot.” Piper said, her voice becoming hushed like she was divulging a huge secret.

Luke glanced at the reporter, a look of doubt clearly written on his face. “We are talking about the same Wellingham, right? The damn robot who works at Colonial Taphouse?”

“That’s the only Wellingham I know, Blue. He’s been an informant of mine for years now.” Piper replied, her voice still hushed. “Really, he’s not that bad. It’s all just show to scare away people that a lot of the, er, wealthier patrons of Colonial Taphouse don’t want around.”

Luke shook his head in disbelief. “I don’t care. I still wanna tear that bucket of bolts apart for scrap.”

“Yeah, that’s still the general consensus about him.” Piper smiled. “Well, let’s get moving. I think the last place I had heard about a deathclaw attack was near Natick, about a day’s travel away.”

“A day? Well, let’s get to it.” Luke said, his mood brightening, and the two resumed their travels.

The travel was slower than Luke would have preferred, but at least the pace was steady. Luke was pleasantly surprised at how competent Piper was. While she had talked big about being able to handle herself, Luke assumed it was just bragging. Instead, she was more than capable, catching some of the dangers along their way before Luke did. The talk was small, with the conversation never straying beyond keeping themselves safe.

As the sun began to sink below the horizon, Luke began to scan the area for a place to set up camp. Finally, he decided on the remains of a house that seemed sturdy enough.

“We’ll camp there for the night.” he said, gesturing with his plasma rifle to the structure. Piper nodded, and they began to make their way towards it.

Drawing closer to the house, Luke stopped to assemble his shotgun, hooking his plasma rifle onto a holster slot on his knapsack. Crouching down, he held his hand out, signaling Piper to hold back. She mirrored the Lone Wanderer’s stance, unholstering her pistol.

“What is it, Blue?” she asked, her voice a whisper.

“Nothing. I just don’t want to go charging into an unknown building. Just being a little careful is all.” Luke hissed back. He eased forward, keeping his weapon poised. Stepping onto the stoop, a box-like structure attached to the doorframe near the baseboards caught Luke’s attention. He prostrated himself on the porch, bringing his eyeline to the same level as the object.

“Fuck.” he swore under his breath. “Hey, can you open that top pocket of my bag and pull out my toolkit?” he asked Piper. The porch creaked as the reporter knelt next to Luke, followed by the sound of a zipper. Within moments, Piper handed Luke a small booklet shaped case. Luke promptly opened the case, revealing a makeshift burglar’s kit. Luke activated on the light on his Pip-Boy, illuminating the area in a pale blue glow. He extracted a pair of needle-nose pliers and wire snippers. He slid as close as he could to the doorframe, peering at the object. The pliers began probing the top of the object. Luke muttered to himself, talking his way through what his hands were doing. Piper stifled a laugh as Luke kept working.

Several moments later, Luke exclaimed in triumph as he decisively clipped a wire. Once the wire was clipped, he began disassembling the contraption. When he was done, he slid on his stomach, kneeling up. Picking up his shotgun, Luke shut off the Pip-Boy light and gingerly opened the door with a creak. Luke inched into the house, eyes vainly scouring the darkness of the house. Several steps in, he stopped and gently removed a double barrel shotgun from a gun mount. A click permeated the musty air of the entryway, followed by the sound of shells being removed from the breech. Pocketing the shells, Luke held up his hand, signaling to Piper to stop once again. Heading up the stairs, he disappeared out of Piper’s view.

Piper sighed, growing more agitated the longer Luke was gone. When yelling and gunshots broke out from the upper level of the house, Piper wasted no time. She barged through the door and charged up the stairs, pistol drawn. As she reached the top of the stairs, Luke was barely discernible under a pack of feral ghouls. The crack of a shotgun blast rang out, and Piper watched as one of the ghouls fell, putrid blood spewing from the stump of a neck. Another shot rang out, and a second ghoul spun around, one of its arms missing. The de-armed ghoul fell to the ground before struggling to stand as Luke fired on a third ghoul, its chest collapsing from the impact of the blast. Piper drew a bead on the armless ghoul and fired. Her shot flew true, impacting with the side of the ghoul’s skull. Brains and gore splattered against one of the walls. Turning quickly, Piper aimed at one of the two remaining ghouls. Unfortunately, they were bunched too closely to Luke for Piper to fire on them comfortably.

Luke slammed the stock of his shotgun into the face of one of the ghouls. The creature stumbled back, growling and hissing. Piper saw her opportunity and seized it, firing a shot. The bullet tore into the knee of the stunned ghoul. The force of the bullet ripped the ghoul’s leg leg off below the knee. With a final blast, Luke dispatched the ghoul still attacking him with a shot to the torso. Breathing heavily, he turned to Piper. His face was covered in gore and scratches.

“I had that handled.” he groused, switching his shotgun to his left hand and drawing his pistol from its holster on his right thigh. Holding the pistol out at his side, he fired two rounds into the back of the head of the ghoul Piper had crippled. He re-holstered his pistol and switched his shotgun back into a comfortable grip.

“You’re welcome.” Piper replied, her voice slightly bitter. “I wasn’t going to just let you get killed up here without helping. Luke sighed and shook his head.

“Let’s check and see if they’ve got anything work keeping. I don’t think it’s a good idea to stay up here.” Several moments later, after searching the corpses of the ghouls for any goods, the two made their way downstairs.

“The parlor area is probably the best place to stay.” Luke stated simply, dropping his pack in the doorway of the kitchen across the hallway from said parlor. The Pip-Boy light flared into life again, illuminating the gore-spattered faces of the two travelers. The mess on Luke’s face highlighted his exhaustion, his skin appeared to be drawn tightly over his skull. “Is there a water spigot somewhere around here?” Luke inquired as he knelt down and opened his bag.

“I’ll take a look.” Piper responded, tearing her gaze from the terrifying visage of her travel companion.

“Will you also look for some rags or something so we can clean up?” Luke called as Piper continued down the hall towards a back door. “I’ll start getting some food going.”

Out the back door, Piper found herself on a wooden stoop overlooking the remains of a fenced-off yard. As her eyes scanned the dead and scorched earth, her gaze landed on a spigot about five feet from the bottom of the stoop. A half-collapsed doghouse stood a bit further beyond the spigot. Piper made her way down the steps and approached the pump. The handle made a rusty creak as the reporter began to pump on the handle. After several seconds, water began to dribble, then flow out of the spout. Piper placed her hands under the flow, feeling the fluid begin to wash the grime on her hands away.

Sighing in relief, Piper began actively washing her hands before washing her face. It was at this moment that Piper noticed a growling and metallic rattling. Looking up, she barely had time to take a step as a mongrel dog lunged at her, barking and foaming at the mouth. She fell on her backside as the dog’s front paws hit her just above the hit. She got lucky, as the chain kept the beast from jumping higher. With a grunt, she kicked at the dog while pushing herself away from it. She drew her weapon as she stood up, backing towards the stoop.

A bolt of heat passed by Piper’s face. A green orb of plasma struck the dog in the flank, leaving the smell of burning flesh in the air. Another plasma orb flew past the dog, this time hitting the dog squarely in the ribs. With a yelp, the dog disintegrated into a puddle of glowing green puddle of goo. The smell of ozone mingled with the smell of charred flesh in Piper’s nostrils. She turned to see Luke standing on the stoop behind her, his plasma rifle in his hands. The barrel was smoking, and Luke’s face was set in a grim visage, his face still covered in gore. Piper stood up, dusting herself off.

“I had that handled.” she said, her voice a mixture of embarrassment, frustration, and amusement. Luke’s face broke out into a grin.

“You’re welcome.” he responded, his tone light. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up.” he finished, lowering his plasma rifle and extending his hand to the reporter.

The two reentered the house and made their way back towards the kitchen. Luke grabbed a bucket that was lying on its side in one of the corners of the dining room and headed back outside to the water pump while Piper began searching the kitchen for supplies. She found towels in a cabinet, and canned foods in another. However, the best find was a case of Nuka-Cola inside the remains of the refrigerator. Luke soon returned with a full bucket of water.

“Hey, I found some towels. Let’s get you cleaned up, Blue.” Piper said over her shoulder.

“I’m fine, Piper.” Luke said, building a fire in the fireplace of the parlor. Piper turned to face the Lone Wanderer’s back. She stood there, watching him labor over the fireplace. A fire soon flared into life, filling the room with a warm yellow light while casting shadows on the walls. After several minutes, Piper picked up the water bucket, towels, and a bowl she had found earlier and made her way over to her traveling companion. She gently placed the bucket beside Luke and knelt down behind him. She reached out and lightly gripped the collar of Luke’s duster. His reaction was almost instantaneous, seizing Piper’s wrist, his entire body growing tense.

“Don’t.” he said gruffly. “I told you, I’m fine.”

“Damnit, Luke! Stop trying to play the hero, and accept some damn help!” Piper shot back, standing and stepping to face the Lone Wanderer, her wrist still in his grip. Luke stood up, facing off with the reporter.

“Why are you such a pain in my ass?” Luke grumbled, releasing Piper’s wrist. The tension in his body dissipated, and with a wave of his hand, he allowed Piper to continue. Hesitantly, Piper grabbed the lapels of the Lone Wanderer’s duster and eased to coat from his shoulders, fully exposing his vault suit and armor. She tossed it towards the couch sitting unevenly against one of the walls. She then placed her hands on Luke’s collarbones, pushing him down lightly until he was sitting once again. One by one, his armor pieces were also tossed aside until Luke was in his vault suit and boots.

Grabbing the supplies she had brought over, Piper knelt in front of Luke. She poured some of the water from the bucket into the bowl, then wet the towel in the bowl. After she had wrung the rag out, she began to wipe at the gore and blood on the face of the Lone Wanderer. For the most part, Luke did little to resist Piper’s efforts, save for the occasional wince as dried blood was wiped away from scratches and cuts. The worst injury was a large cut on Luke’s left cheek. As Piper began cleaning it, Luke yelped.

“Good Lord, woman!” he cried in protest. “Is there any way you can do this without it feeling like a mirelurk king is spitting in it?”

“I dunno, Blue.” Piper replied, sucking air in her mouth through her teeth. “This cut is pretty bad… You’re probably gonna need stitches in it.”

“No time for that, I’m afraid.” Luke grimaced. “We’ll have to go with something a little less orthodox. Get into my bag and grab the bottle of Wonderglue.” Piper reeled back in shock.

“That’s not good enough, Blue!” she argued.

“It’s what it was designed for.” Luke stated, a hint of excitement in his voice. “When it was released in 2016, one of the main purposes of it was for combat medicine, to plug up bullet wounds. It’s biodegradable, so it’s good to seal sounds. Honest, we learned about this in the vault.” Piper set her lips in a hard line, weighing her options. Standing up, she walked quickly to the knapsack and rummaged inside. She came back to her companion and knelt back in front of him.

“Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes, Piper. Do it.”

Piper unscrewed the lid of the adhesive, keeping the lid in her hand. She tipped Luke’s head to the right, bringing the cut to a more easily accessible position. Taking a deep breath, she placed the tip of the applicator into the wound and squeezed. A small dribble of clear fluid dropped onto the wound. Luke hissed in discomfort, but otherwise kept still as Piper traced more Wonderglue into the cut. Once the cut was covered completely, Luke returned his head to it’s normal position. He gingerly felt the glue, making sure it had completely dried.

“Good job. You’ve got steady hands.” Luke said, impressed. He stretched, arching his back before he stood up. Walking over to his knapsack, Luke picked it up and returned to the fireside. He opened the bag, and began removing food items from it. “Sorry, I don’t have a wide selection of food. It sticks mostly to Cram and InstaMash with coffee.”

Piper grinned. “You’re in luck, Blue. I always pack some goodies when I travel.” She crawled over to her bag and came back. Opening it, she pulled out a box of Fancy Lads snack cakes and two Nuka-Colas. Chuckling, Luke removed a small pot and tea kettle and began cooking a meal for the two of them. Soon, the sounds of Cram cooking filled the air, the sounds of sizzling meat mixing with the crackle of the fire filling the otherwise silent room.

When Luke scooped the food into Piper’s bowl, she finally decided to break the silence. “So who was she?” Piper could see Luke’s jaw clench and his molars grind.

“How do you know it was a woman? Maybe it was a guy.” Luke responded, trying to sound sarcastic and failing miserably. 

Piper smiled wanly. “Because of how evasive you’re being about it. But you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. Besides, I know what I needed to know.” she finished with a wink. Luke rolled his eyes and began working on his meal. Piper handed him a Nuka-Cola, which he gratefully accepted. The two of them ate in silence.

“Her name was Amata.” Luke said quietly. Piper looked up from her bowl. Putting it down, she pulled her notebook and pencil out of her pocket. Looking up, she prepared to ask for Luke’s permission to take notes. Luke motioned with his hand for Piper to go ahead.

“Her name was Amata.” he repeated. “She and I were best friends from birth. Well, I guess I mean when from dad and I entered the vault. She was the Overseer’s daughter, but didn’t let it get to her head. She was smart, she was kind, and she was one of the toughest people I’ve ever met.”

“Then what happened? Why didn’t you two settle down, have a gaggle of kids?” Piper inquired. “Certainly, you earned it, being a hero and whatnot.”

Luke chuckled darkly. “There’s the issue; being a hero. A month or so after I left Vault 101, there was a rebellion in the vault. People found out that the wastes were inhabitable, and they wanted to get out of the vault, start new lives. It didn’t help that the Enclave wanted to gain access to the vault as well. The Overseer was… er, quite opposed to both ideas, and long story short, he deployed vault security to squash any resistance.”

“Shit… that’s not good.” Piper muttered, writing rapidly in her notebook. “ She glanced up briefly from her writing. “But what does this have to do with you being a hero?”

“Amata was one of those who wanted to open the vault to the outside world, but she needed support from both sides. So she hacked the emergency broadcast system to send a distress signal to the wastes. But, the signal was meant for one individual; me. I made a mad dash back to the vault to help her. I’d found my dad by this point, and he warned me it was a trap. But honestly, I didn’t care. To be honest, I also wanted to see her.” Luke said sheepishly. Piper laughed.

“Wanted to see your girlfriend?” she teased. Luke looked pointedly at the reporter, the look on his face pained. Piper returned to her notebook, her face reddening. “I’m sorry.” she said quietly.

“It’s okay.” Luke responded with equal softness. The two sat for several minutes, Luke staring into the fire while Piper continued to write. Luke cleared his throat and continued, not breaking his view with the fire. “I got into the vault, and it was… bad. Several people were killed in the insurrection, either by direct conflict or by accident. I eventually was able to bring both sides to a peaceful resolution, but… well, my presence was a bit of a sore spot for both sides. Those who were pro-isolation wanted me gone because I was one of the reasons the rebellion started, and the people who wanted to interact more with the surface wanted me gone to keep the peace with the isolationists. Both sides decided that Amata was the best option to be the new Overseer. I went to see her, and…” Luke’s voice broke, his composure breaking. Piper bit her lip, watching the Lone Wanderer closely. After what seemed to be an eternity later, Luke began again, his voice barely above a whisper. “Well... her words were ‘I’m sorry. You’re a hero, and you have to leave.’”

Luke coughed and stood up. “And I’ve never been back. Dad… left again, and soon after that, the fight for Project Purity happened. I tried to go back, but I could never bring myself to try and enter.” He grabbed his knapsack and unhooked his sleeping roll from it. He cleared his throat again. “Anyways, I think that’s enough for tonight.” he lobbed the sleeping roll to Piper. “Get some sleep. I’ll take the first watch.”

Piper spread the roll out on the hearth, and curled up on the roll. She watched Luke retrieve his duster from the couch and swing it over his shoulders. He picked up his shotgun and sat down on the couch, his weapon trained on the door. As the warmth of the fire washed over her, Piper soon drifted off to sleep, questions slowly fading into oblivion as she slipped into slumber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 06 FEB 2020: Some editing mistakes were fixed


	6. Skirmish

Sunlight pierced the broken windows as Piper awoke. Her vision was slightly blurry as her eyes tried to focus. As her eyes focused, she saw Luke slumped on the couch, shotgun in his lap. He was snoring softly, head lolled against the armrest.

Groaning, she stretched, surprised to feel a heavy blanket over her. She sat up, looking around the room. Piper surmised that the room would have been quite magnificent before the bombs fell, but the centuries of neglect had not been too kind. Debris had blown in, and the sunlight revealed that part of the ceiling had collapsed, revealing the framework of the house. Coals were still smoldering in the fire, emitting heat intermittently.

Standing up, Piper figured that it would be a good idea to stoke the fire. Grasping some of the wood she and Luke had collected, Piper soon had the fire crackling back to life. Inspecting the bucket that they had put water in, she was dismayed to find that it was empty. Picking it up, she began walking towards the end of the room.

“I’d be careful if I were you.” Luke mumbled from the couch as a floorboard squeaked under Piper’s footstep. Piper stopped and turned towards the couch. Luke stirred, sitting up more fully. “I rigged from traps in all the doorways, just to make sure.” he continued, rubbing his face. When Piper’s face contorted into one of confusion, Luke gestured to the doorframe. It was then that Piper noticed that a tripwire stretched across the portal. Another quick glance revealed that the shotgun from the trap had been moved to just inside the entrance to the parlor, making for a nasty surprise for anyone who was foolish enough to try and ambush the two.

Piper nodded in approval. “I’m impressed, Blue. What else do you have cooked up?” she asked as she stepped over the tripwire.

“Just a couple frag grenades attached to tripwires at the front and back doors. So if you feel like being Swiss-cheesed, go ahead and break the tripwire.” Luke called out.

“Aw, you shouldn’t have, Blue. You really know how to show a girl a good time.” Piper replied, her smile clearly painted in the tone of her voice.

Breakfast was a short affair, as both of the travelers decided to forego a meal, opting instead for a cup of coffee. After his cup, Luke got to work disassembling the booby traps he had set up to protect themselves. Once that task was over, Luke donned his various armor pieces as Piper made sure to erase as many traces of their stay as she could. As he finished armoring up, Luke placed his shotgun in the holster clip on the side of his knapsack, lifting the bag and placing it on his shoulders. “Let’s go, Miss Wright.” he said with a smile.

Though the tone of their conversation was light as they traveled, there was an underlying sense of tension. Piper could not decide if it was because of the conversation that had occurred the night before or if it was because of the upcoming job. She didn’t have much time to think about it, as Natick appeared over the horizon. Luke stopped suddenly, causing Piper to run into him. His gaze was cast down towards his wrist, studying the map on his Pip-Boy. His face was contorted into a grimace of concentration.

“I don’t like it…” he muttered. He looked up, surveying the surrounding area. Slinging his plasma rifle over his shoulder while keeping an eye on the town, Luke began walking towards a large, deadened tree.

“Uh… Blue?” Piper asked as Luke knelt at the base of the tree, opening his pack.

“I need a better vantage point. This tree is kinda the tallest thing around.” Luke said simply as he withdrew his binoculars from his bag. Looping the neck strap around his neck, he began to quickly scale the tree. He stopped occasionally, scanning the town with his binoculars. He stopped his ascent when the branches began to thin out. He remained in the tree for several minutes, his head moving back and forth. He then quickly descended, shuddering when his boots connected with the ground.

“You okay?” Piper asked as she watched the Lone Wanderer shudder.

“Hm? Oh, yeah.” Luke responded. “I just hate being in trees. I’d rather have both feet on the ground.”

Piper nodded in understanding. “So what does the situation look like?” she asked.

“Oh, it’s gonna be fun.” Luke grinned as he replaced his binoculars into his bag. “I saw at least two deathclaws and a mutant behemoth.”

Piper cocked an eyebrow. “You certainly have a strange idea of fun, Mister Williams.” Luke laughed, a genuine sound that Piper hadn’t yet heard from her travelling companion.

“I’ll chalk that up to growing up in a vault. Gotta see the wildlife up close, ya know?” Luke said with a wink as he sealed his backpack and lifted it off the ground. Piper shook her head and followed Luke as he began to resume walking towards Natick.

“You’re probably gonna get us killed.” Piper jibed as she drew side by side with Luke.

“Probably.” Luke responded, his tone deadpan, a grin plastered across his face.

“So what’s the plan?” Piper asked, drawing her pistol.

“We’re gonna scout the town very carefully until we can find an egg or two, and do it without getting killed.” Luke responded, glancing at Piper.

“Sounds good to me.” Piper returned.

The two entered the town, weapons held and ready to go at a moment’s notice. Luckily for them, the super mutant behemoth towered over many of the two story buildings, which made it easy to keep an eye on it. Piper kept behind Luke by a half-step, keeping an out for any sudden attacks from the rear. “Where would be the best place to find a deathclaw nest?” she inquired as she peered down an alley.

“Probably somewhere out in the open, to be honest. It’s a lot easier for them to access the nest, and they like to defend them pretty heavily.” Luke answered as he scanned the lobby of one of the buildings for any threats. “So it’ll be where the matriarch can access the nest, but somewhere that it still pretty defensible.”

“That sounds a lot like the town square.” Piper mused. “Plenty of nooks for the things to build a nest in.” Luke nodded in agreement.

“I agree. That is where I saw the highest concentration of deathclaws. There’s just one small problem, Miss Wright.” Luke started, gesturing at the behemoth as it stepped behind a building.

Piper’s eyebrows furrowed in concentration. “Right. Stuck between a rock and a hard place.” She sighed and sucked her teeth. “We need to see this from a different perspective.” Piper turned, surveying their surroundings. “What if we got on top of that building there?” she asked, pointing towards an apartment building. Looking at the building, Luke brought his Pip-Boy up, activating the map. He nodded.

“Yeah, that would give us a good vantage. Let’s go.” he said, his tone of voice praiseworthy. Piper smiled as the two of them stepped towards the building.

As they stepped towards the threshold of the building, Luke unhooked his shotgun from it’s holster on his knapsack, placing the plasma rifle there in its stead. The doors to the building were gone, leaving a dark hole like a maw into the building. The two slowly picked their way through the building, sticking to the stairways. They made it to the top of the stairway with no incident. With a flourish, Luke opened the door and stepped onto the rooftop.

As Piper stepped into the sunlight, she had to blink several times to try and get her eyes to readjust. Luke was crouched in one of the corners on the backside building, binoculars in hand. “Come take a look.” he called. Piper strode over to the Lone Wanderer, crouching down beside him on his right side. Luke handed Piper the binoculars as he unzipped his knapsack further. He began assembling his sniper rifle, loading a full magazine. Releasing a breath, Luke peered through the scope of his rifle. “What do you see?” he asked.

Piper scanned the area. “Nothing good.” she answered. “I see at least one matriarch, one alpha, and at least four juveniles. But I can’t see a nest anywhere. Give me a second.” She stood up and moved to Luke’s left side, resuming her scan of the area through the binoculars. “There. I see a nest!”

“Where?” Luke asked.

“Northwest corner. The matriarch just moved away from it.” Piper replied. Luke adjusted his gaze.

“Ah… there you are.” Luke breathed, a smile growing on his face. He lowered his rifle and turned to Piper. “So, what do you suggest?”

Piper continued watching the square for another minute before responding. “My best bet? Do as much damage as we can from here and then get down there as fast as we can.” she sighed, lowering the binoculars to look at Luke. Luke nodded and resumed peering through his scope.

“Alright. Let’s get this started.” he muttered. The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by something Piper could only describe as mechanical and cold. He grit his teeth, then pulled away. “Grab my plasma rifle. It’ll keep you safer than that pistol will.” he said quietly. Piper looked at Luke, then nodded slowly. She unhooked the weapon from the side of the bag, gently placing it beside her before clipping the shotgun to the bag. As Luke looked through the scope once more, Piper replaced the binoculars and zipped the knapsack mostly closed.

Taking a deep breath, Luke placed his finger on the trigger before letting loose a shot. There was a muffled snap as the rifle discharged. The matriarch deathclaw down below roared as the bullet struck it in the side. The creature turned, and although Piper couldn’t exactly it, she was sure that the thing was searching for where the shot came from.

“Shit. We’re up-wind from these things.” Luke muttered, firing again. Through the scope, he could see the deathclaw stumble, an indication that his shot had connected with the targeted knee. Another shot came, this one striking the chest of the deathclaw as it stood taller, trying to smell the two young adults. Two more shots came from the Lone Wanderer’s rifle, and the deathclaw collapsed. Piper nodded in admiration as Luke ejected the magazine from the rifle.

“Lucky shot.” he stated simply, handing the empty mag to Piper. Piper understood what Luke wanted and quickly reached into the bag for ammunition as Luke withdrew a fresh magazine from his bandolier. He jacked the magazine into the rifle, chambered a round, and resumed his aim. “Fucking hell. They’re moving faster than I would like…” he swore again as he fired again. A salvo of four shots cracked from the barrel of the rifle, and Luke ejected the spent magazine, handing it to Piper as she handed him the magazine she was refilling. He loaded the new magazine into the rifle, and quickly spent the five rounds. When the magazine was spent, he lowered the rifle quickly and grabbed his knapsack. “Time to go." he said, grabbing Piper by the arm and lifting her to her feet while he held his rifle and bag in his right hand. Piper stumbled slightly as Luke began to attempt to quickly cross the roof, dragging her behind him.

Before Piper could ask why they needed to flee, the building shook, almost throwing the already unsteady duo to the floor. Luke's rifle and bag clattered to the ground as he tried to steady himself. Piper bumped into Luke, vainly trying to keep both of them upright. Instead, the two finally tumbled to the ground. Somehow, Luke rolled his body and landed on his back, taking the brunt of the fall for Piper as she landed on top of him. Piper felt the wind rush from her lungs as she hit the dense armor plate on Luke’s chest. She recovered quickly though. Looking up, she momentarily found herself distracted by Luke’s concerned face looking back at her.

“You okay?” Luke asked. Piper nodded, even though she was trying to refill her lungs. “Good.” he said, pushing her upright as he sat up. “‘Cause we gotta keep moving!” The two scrambled to their feet, each of them grabbing one of the dropped items, Luke the rifle and Piper the bag. As they reached the door, Piper looked behind them to see a juvenile deathclaw finish it’s climb to the top of the building. It lunged, swiping at the two travelers, just narrowly missing as Luke and Piper reentered the stairway. Luke slammed the door shut, watching the door buckle in it’s frame as the deathclaw on the other side threw its weight against the door.

“So what’s the plan?” Piper asked, still gasping for breath as she leaned up against the wall. Several heavy thumps came from up the stairway as the deathclaw outside continued to attempt to get it. “You got to see the wildlife up close.”

“I wanna see if I can pick any more of them off from inside the building before we make a play for the eggs.” Luke responded, sounding equally winded. He motioned to Piper to toss him the knapsack, which she did. Luke reached into the bag, grabbing more ammunition for his rifle. He crouched down to go through the process of reloading. It was then that Piper noticed his hands were shaking slightly.

“Are you okay?” Piper asked, finally regaining her breath. Luke looked up as he loaded the fresh magazine into his rifle.

“Yeah. Just the adrenaline.” he remarked, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. With a metallic screech, the door finally sheared from its hinges under the deathclaw’s assault. The creature vainly swiped at the space, but it’s size prevented it from actually entering the building. Luke and Piper exchanged a glance before hurrying down the stairs.

A raspy growl emanated from one of the rooms as they descended the stairs, causing the two to stop. Luke switched his rifle to his left hand and drew his pistol from his thigh holster. Holding the pistol at level with his chest, Luke kicked the door open, revealing a feral ghoul. He pulled the trigger, aiming at the zombie-like creature. The ghoul spun as the bullet struck it in the left shoulder. Another shot caught the ghoul in the back, sending the creature to the floor. Luke entered the room as the ghoul began to stand up, aiming for the spot dead square between the humanoid’s shoulder blades. A click echoed around the room, somehow louder than the commotion of the deathclaws in the plaza and the juvenile attempting to get in. Luke felt a wave of dread wash over him as he pulled the trigger again, which resulted in another click. The ghoul charged the Lone Wanderer, arms outstretched and growl crescendoing into an almost scream. Luke dropped the weapons in his hands and drew his combat knife.

The ghoul swung its arm in a hay-maker, which allowed Luke to sidestep its attack. It swung again, this time with the other arm. The blow landed with a squishy thump on Luke’s left collarbone. Grimacing through the pain, Luke grabbed the ghoul by the throat with his left hand. With a snarl to match the ghoul’s growls, Luke rammed the knife through the left temple of the ghoul, which caused the ghoul to go limp. Luke tossed the dead ghoul aside, breathing heavily.

“Hey, are you still with me?” Luke asked Piper over his shoulder, wiping his knife on the hem of his duster before sheathing it. He stooped down to pick up his rifle and revolver, holstering the latter. Gritting his teeth, Luke stepped over to the window quickly. Instead of kneeling, he stood upright, bracing his right shoulder against the window frame.

Scanning the area below, Luke tried to find the wounded matriarch, but could not see it anywhere. Scowling, Luke began to draw a bead on the alpha, who was aggressively patrolling back and forth in the plaza. He fired, and the bullet ricocheted off one of the creature’s massive horns. Barely hesitating, he fired again. The second shot hit the alpha in the shoulder as it began to stand upright. Inhaling deeply, Luke fired as the alpha roared and took a defiant step towards the building. The bullet struck just underneath the creature’s left eye, causing it to stumble backwards. It was by no means dead, but it was currently not as large a threat.

Refocusing, Luke resurveyed the area, looking for the juveniles. He could still hear the one on the roof, which meant there were three more out there. While he continued his scan, he noticed a deathclaw corpse. After watching it for several seconds, he determined that it was the body of one of the juveniles.

“Damn. They turned on each other.” he breathed as he resumed his scan. After several seconds, he could not see anything moving in the plaza. Sighing, Luke lowered his rifle and stepped away from the window. “Alright, let’s go. This is our best shot.” he said, turning to face Piper. She had entered the room, and was standing by the window on Luke’s right, checking the situation in the plaza for herself.

“You’re probably right. I’m not seeing anything either.” Piper agreed as Luke spun to talk to her. She had a comfortable grip on the Lone Wanderer’s plasma rifle and held it across her body. She was staring intently out the window, also scanning the plaza below. “Let’s go.”

The pair finished their journey to the lobby of the building. In the lobby, Luke and Piper both stopped and double checked that their weapons were ready for combat. Luke poked his head out of the lobby entrance before waving Piper to him. The two snuck along the front of the building before taking an alleyway on their left.

Crouching down at the terminus of the alleyway, Luke took one last look out into the plaza. He turned and winked at Piper. “Here goes nothing.” With that, he dashed into the town square at a crouch. Piper followed the Lone Wanderer, lifting the plasma rifle into a firing position to cover her traveling companion.

A deep bellow echoed across the town square, causing the two to stop in their tracks. “Shit.” Luke swore. A second roar echoed through the plaza, higher in pitch and tone. With earth-shaking steps, the super mutant behemoth that had been skirting the edges of the town crashed into the plaza. The deathclaw alpha came galloping from another alleyway near the nest, charging the behemoth. Luke turned and tackled Piper, crashing through the doorway of another building, shielding Piper from potential injury with his body. Groaning, both of them crept to the breezeway to watch the battle between the creatures, staying crouched down.

“Fuck.” Luke swore again, gripping his shotgun tightly. Scowling, he bit his lip, staring at the plaza. Growling, he placed his shotgun on the ground and began removing his knapsack, followed by his duster.

“Um… What are you doing?” Piper asked as Luke picked up his shotgun again, pulling his hat down low.

“Cover me.” Luke growled in response. He stood up, took a deep breath, and charged into the plaza. Piper rushed to the doorway, her protest caught in her throat. Sighing, she lifted the plasma rifle to cover the Lone Wanderer.

Luke sprinted towards the deathclaw nest, the sounds of the struggle between the alpha deathclaw and behemoth reverberating through the square. As he neared the nest, he was knocked from his feet. He landed hard on his left shoulder, accompanied by a loud pop and a flash of pain. With a jolt, Luke was lifted off of the ground. He saw his attacker, one of the remaining juvenille deathclaws as it lifted him to its eye level. Roaring, the younger deathclaw slammed the Lone Wanderer to the ground. The shotgun skittered from Luke’s hand as he hit the ground shoulders first. Black spots swam in Luke’s vision as the wind rushed from his lungs. Before he could recover, the deathclaw tossed Luke, sending the young man rolling like a tumbleweed.

Luck smiled on the Lone Wanderer, though. The deathclaw had thrown him towards the nest, and he ended up landing within several feet of the nest. That is where Luke’s luck ran out. As his momentum came to a stop, his vision went completely black.

Piper took off from her hiding spot, her vision focused on the inert form of Luke. The young deathclaw’s back was turned towards the reporter as she began to fire the plasma rifle in her hands. Her shots were erratic, plasma orbs striking almost everything except the deathclaw. Two did strike the young creature; one glanced off its rib cage, the other striking it squarely between the shoulder blades. The creature roared, almost in surprise, and began to turn towards the reporter. Piper took a deep breath and aimed down the iron sights of the rifle. She squeezed the trigger, and watched as the plasma orbs refracted off of the deathclaw’s scaly hide. There was a click as the microfusion cell powering the weapon finally ran dry. The deathclaw drew closer, snarling as it drew back an arm to swipe at Piper. Before it could swing, a large pipe with a fire hydrant landed on top of the deathclaw’s head. The beast crumpled, crushed under the bat-like weapon. Piper turned as the behemoth wielding the bat lifted the weapon, blood and small bits of flesh dripping off of the weapon. Piper took off running as the behemoth roared, preparing to swing again.

The behemoth was distracted as the alpha deathclaw, which had been lying stunned, stood up and took a swipe at the behemoth’s ankle. Piper slid, baseball-style, towards the unconscious Lone Wanderer. He was lying face down in the dirt, necessitating Piper to roll him over. Straining, she swore as she rolled him over. “Shit, Blue, what do you eat normally? Bricks?” 

With the young man on his back, Piper began fumbling with the ammunition bandolier slung across Luke’s body. She withdrew a fresh microfusion cell and ejected the spent one from the plasma rifle. With a sickening squelch and crunch from across the plaza, the behemoth kicked the alpha deathclaw, sending it flying into one of the buildings. It turned towards the two travelers, stomping heavily and dislodging a large piece of pavement. It picked the slab up and heaved it towards the nest.

The wind from the concrete slab tore Piper’s hat off, blinding her as well with dirt particles. She dropped her head, blinking furiously to try and clear her eyes. Tears streamed down her face as she lifted her head and began taking aim once again. Piper pulled the trigger, only to have another click meet her ears.

“Shit.” Piper swore as she pulled the trigger again, which led to another click. Dropping her aim, Piper quickly surveyed the weapon, realizing she had inserted the microfusion cell into the weapon incorrectly. Quickly, she ejected the cell and replaced it properly. Without hesitation, she began pulling the trigger as she brought the weapon to bear. Green plasma orbs struck the greenish-yellow flesh of the behemoth’s torso, leaving black, charred flesh at each contact point. The behemoth bellowed, seemingly in pain. It staggered back, though Piper had a brief thought pass through her mind that it was not from the plasma rounds hitting it. After twelve rounds, the plasma rifle again ran dry. The behemoth was drawing closer, swinging its bat. The bat barely missed one of the buildings, instead knocking several of the facades off. Rubble fell, large chunks of masonry nearly striking the two. Piper flinched, shielding Luke’s body with her own. One particularly large piece struck her below the right shoulder blade, eliciting a pained yelp.

Grimacing, Piper grabbed another cell from Luke’s bandolier, loading it into the rifle. She fired, pulling the trigger as fast as she could. One of the shots connected with the behemoth’s left armpit as it began to swing it’s bat. With a scream-like bellow, the creature began to dissolve into a nuclear green pile of goop. It’s forward momentum resulted in the entire area being coated with the goop, including the two travelers.

Sputtering as the goo-ified behemoth coated most of his body, Luke tried to sit up before the pain in his collarbone kept him down. He spat, trying to get the goop that had unfortunately landed in his mouth out.

“What the hell happened?!” he shouted after he had finished gagging. He gasped, clutching his collarbone.

“We survived, Mister Williams.” Piper replied shakily. Luke looked up, making eye contact with the reporter. She had a mortified look on her face as goop dripped off of the back of her head. Luke looked at her with a raised eyebrow before laughing.

“You okay there, Miss Wright?” he asked, his smile turning into a grimace as another flare of pain shot across his chest. 

“I’m more concerned about you, Luke.” Piper replied shaking her head to try and get rid of some of the goop in her hair. The shaking sent goop flying, including into the face of her traveling partner, who lifted his right arm to shield his face as he groaned in protest.

“Nah, it’s just a scratch.” Luke chuckled weakly. Piper pursed her lips as she gazed intently at her companion whose face was growing more ashen and pale. “If you really are that worried about me, there should be a stimpack or two in my bag.” Piper nodded and stood up.

It took her very little time to find the medical devices in the bag. Piper removed two and quickly returned to the Lone Wanderer, who had closed his eyes.

“Hey, Blue.” she called softly. Luke opened his eyes slowly. His gaze was unfocused, and his head lolled to the left to look at Piper.

“Amata? But… how? Why?” he asked, his tone clearly confused and uncertain. Piper knelt down beside Luke.

“Sorry, Blue, but I’m not her.” Piper replied quietly. As Luke’s confusion became more apparent on his face, Piper continued before he could ask anything. “I need you to stay awake, okay?” Luke nodded slowly, and Piper could see the wheels turning in his brain. “I need to take off your armor so I can take care of you more fully, alright?”

Without waiting for a response, Piper began to undo the straps that held the chestpiece in place. She set the armor down on the ground and tugged on the zipper of the Lone Wanderer’s Vault 101 jumpsuit, exposing the young man’s chest. Piper grit her teeth and watched Luke’s chest rise and fall with ragged breaths. His broken left collarbone was apparent, both pieces pressing against the skin.

“Like… what… you see?” Luke asked groggily. Piper looked up, the look on her face a combination of embarrassment and concern.

“This is gonna fucking hurt like hell, Blue.” Piper said. She grasped Luke’s right forearm and pulled him into a more upright position. The Lone Wanderer’s eyes rolled up into his head as his chin hit his chest. “Hey hey hey.” Piper chided, lifting his chin and gently slapping his cheek. The young man shook his head exhaustedly as his eyes fluttered open.

“Okay… Okay.” Luke murmured. Piper let out a breath and put her hands on either side of her companion’s shoulder. Letting another breath go, she pushed on both sides. Luke groaned as Piper reset the bone into its proper place. Holding her companion’s shoulder still to keep the bone from moving, she removed one of the stimpacks from her pocket and stabbed the needle into Luke’s chest, depressing the plunger to administer the medicine.

Luke shuddered as the stimpack began its work. Color began to return to his face and his breathing grew steadier. Piper continued to check Luke’s body further for injuries. From what she could tell, there were no other serious injuries. Sighing with relief, Piper slumped down by Luke. She laid down and closed her eyes as a wave exhaustion hit her like a super mutant’s sledgehammer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 06 FEB 2020: Fixed some editing mistakes


	7. The Dam Begins To Break

Luke sat up, ramrod straight, yelling as his hand scrabbled for the pistol on his thigh. He finally pried the weapon from its holster and wildly swung it around, vainly trying to find any threat. When he found no threats in the vicinity, he fell back on his elbows, breathing heavily. A dull ache thrummed across his left collarbone, and Luke sat up again, rubbing his collarbone with his right hand after switching his pistol to his left hand. Under his touch, he could almost feel the bone continuing to knit itself together.

He turned to Piper. Feeling a rush of panic, he rolled over and placed two fingers on the young woman’s throat. Feeling her pulse under his fingertips, Luke breathed out, feeling a rush of several emotions and dropped his chin to his chest.

“Hey.” Piper whispered. Luke lifted his chin and met the reporter’s gaze.

“You gave me quite a scare, Miss Wright.” Luke said with a tone that matched Piper’s. The young woman laughed.

“You gave me the scare first, Lone Wanderer.” Piper smiled. She reached up and placed her hand on Luke’s chest, fingertips on his collarbone. “How does your arm feel?” she asked.

“Feels like a brahmin kicked me and then stepped on it, but I’ll live.” Luke said flippantly. Piper rolled her eyes and sat up, keeping her hand on Luke’s chest.

“You’re welcome.” she huffed, poking him right under the healing bone, drawing a yelp from Luke. Piper laughed and replaced her hand on the young man’s shoulder. The two locked eyes and held each other’s gaze. Piper felt Luke’s pulse quicken under her touch, and she was certain he could feel hers race to catch up.

Piper cleared her throat and looked away as she removed her hand from Luke’s chest. “We should probably grab an egg or two and get out of here before we get anymore trouble.” Luke nodded, swallowing hard.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He stood up and stepped over to the nest. Piper rotated to her knees and crawled next to Luke’s side as he knelt down to inspect the eggs. After several seconds, both agreed on two eggs to take.

While the two collected their scattered belongings, the conversation stayed very safe. Neither of them wanted to or would admit it, but both kept catching themselves stealing glances at the other as they prepared to depart.

Luke shook his head vigorously and chided himself mentally as he forced himself to refocus on inspecting his plasma rifle. While the weapon was intact, Luke made a note to clean and service the weapon soon. Inspection of the shotgun, on the other hand, did not bring such good news.

“Shit.” Luke grumbled. “The barrel is dented and pinched shut. I’ll have to repair it once we get back to Diamond City.” Piper nodded solemnly as she cradled the two eggs in her arms. Luke shrugged and disassembled the shotgun, placing the parts back in his bag.

The two soon left the town of Natick behind, each with an egg safely nestled in the crook of their arms. Night soon caught up with the exhaustion the two were feeling.

“What if we stayed in the same place as we did last night?” Piper asked through a yawn. “We know it should be safe.” Luke nodded in response.

“Good plan. We’ll get cleaned up as well.” he said, rubbing his face. “We’ll be back-tracking a bit, but it’s better than trying to clear out another place to sleep.”

It was late when they finally returned to the abandoned house. “I’ll get a fire going and then I’m gonna get cleaned up, if you don’t mind.” Luke said. Piper shrugged and gestured lazily for Luke to do as he wished as she flopped onto the couch in the parlor. Luke placed the egg in his arm on the couch beside Piper and began removing his armor, dropping the pieces to the floor.

Several minutes later, Piper could feel flickering light wash over her as Luke got a fire roaring in the hearth. “Where is that bucket?” Luke asked before catching sight of it out of the peripheral of his vision. He picked up the bucket and began making his way out the back door.

Piper could faintly hear the spigot out back squealing and water sloshing into the bucket. Fairly soon, she heard Luke coming back inside the building, and reenter the room. She heard a latch come undone, and figured it was his Pip-Boy. She turned her head and half opened her eyes as she heard an unzipping sound. Piper’s eyes opened wide as the Lone Wanderer fully removed his Vault 101 jumpsuit, leaving him standing there in nothing but his boxer briefs and his hat. He sat down and took hold of his vault suit and began cleaning it.

She found herself admiring the young man’s body, albeit in an observational manner. While she had figured her traveling companion to be in fairly good shape, she could finally see the young man’s build in the firelight. His muscle mass was lean and well defined. Piper leaned forward as Luke shuffled the suit to clean another portion of it. The couch creaked as she sat up, and Luke looked up.

“Er... sorry… I needed to clean everything, seeing as it was covered in plasma-fied behemoth…” he stuttered. Piper raised an eyebrow.

“And so you decided you had to be naked to do that?” she asked, her tone soft. Luke coughed, his face growing more and more red.

“I’m not totally naked.” he said indignantly. “I’m still in my underwear. And yeah, I had to be naked to get the entirety of my vault suit.” Piper laughed and stood up.

“Well… I need to clean my stuff as well.” Piper said. She removed her cap, and with a shrug, she removed her leather jacket as well. She stepped over to her companion and sat next to him, her legs crossed. She grabbed another rag and began to work on cleaning her cap.

The two worked in silence, save for the crackling of the fire. Once Piper had finished working on cleaning her cap, she began cleaning her jacket. It was at this point that Piper finally broke the tension between the two.

“So… are we gonna talk about what happened back there?” Piper asked cautiously.

“What about it?” Luke answered, his voice level. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes.

“It’s Amata, isn’t it?” Piper mused, carefully gauging Luke’s response as he balked at the statement.

“What makes you ask that?” he inquired, his voice wavering slightly.

“Because you called me that in the plaza.” Piper answered. “I remind you of her, don’t I?”

Luke refused to make eye contact with Piper. “Yeah.”

“Hey.” Piper whispered, lightly taking Luke’s face in her hands and forcing him to look at her. She then leaned in and locked lips with the Lone Wanderer. Luke tensed up before leaning into the kiss. But the moment did not last, and Luke soon broke the kiss.

“Don’t…” he said, his voice choked. He didn’t meet Piper’s questioning gaze as he grasped her wrists and removed her hands from his face. “I respect you, Piper. You’ve saved my life more than once on this little expedition, and I owe you big for that. But I don’t want to ruin things between us with one night of bad ideas.” he finished, trying to keep his tone even. Piper knelt up and sat directly in front of Luke, staring him deeply in the eyes.

“That’s… fair.” Piper said softly. She continued to peer at her companion in the firelight. She cupped his jawline with her hand and lifted his face, leaning in and lightly kissing him on the forehead. She then kissed him on the cheek, before locking lips with him again. Luke did not break the kiss this time, and instead leaned into the kiss. His fingers intertwined with the hair at the base of her neck as he pulled her close and kissed her again. After several kisses, Luke broke the contact again.

“What are we doing, Piper?” he asked breathlessly.

“I am kissing you, Blue.” Piper responded, a sly smile on her face.

“I see that. But why?” Luke questioned.

“Because you deserve to be happy. Life has been a bitch to you.” Piper stated. “And to be honest, you’ve grown on me. You give off the gruff, loner type vibe, but I feel like I’m slowly getting to know the real you.”

“You’ve known me for a sum of, like, two days.” Luke chuckled dryly. “That’s hardly enough time to really know me.”

“Luke?” Piper asked, putting her finger on his lips. “You talk too much.” With a new ferocity, Piper launched herself at Luke. The two tumbled to the floor in a tangle of limbs. Piper pressed herself into Luke as hard as she could, straddling him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close as she knocked off his hat.

Luke responded just as Piper wanted him to by grasping her by the hips and pulling her into him. Piper moaned in approval and pleasure, breaking their kiss to do so. Luke kissed her neck, drawing a gasp from Piper. She unconsciously began to grind her pelvis into Luke’s, which elicited a groan from the Lone Wanderer. His hands slipped under the hem of Piper’s shirt, fingers tracing up and down her lower spine, causing the reporter to shiver in anticipation.

“Do it.” she whimpered, separating her torso from Luke’s. Luke grabbed the hem of her shirt and lifted it, removing the garment. He replaced his hands on her hips while Piper leaned forward to kiss him, framing his head with her forearms. She kissed her companion hungrily, as if their lips meeting would bring some satisfaction to her soul.

Luke rolled his body, causing Piper to end up on her back. The young woman responded by wrapping her legs around Luke’s hips and her arms around his neck. The Lone Wanderer knelt up, lifting Piper up off the floor. Once she was upright, Luke broke the connection between the two again.

“We need to stop.” he whispered breathlessly. Piper leaned back, keeping her arms around Luke’s neck. She pouted at her companion.

“Why?” she asked, disappointment rooted deeply in her voice. Her eyes searched Luke’s face for an explanation. Luke sighed heavily and leaned forward, resting his forehead against Piper’s.

“It’s just… You make me feel ways that I haven’t felt in a long time. I feel butterflies and the need to throw up every single time you look my way. I want to get to know you, but I’m scared it will end terribly, that something will drive us apart and I’ll never see you again.” Luke murmured, rubbing the tip of his nose against Piper’s. “I don’t want to move too quickly. I don’t want to rush things between us as well. But I do want to learn everything I can about you, Miss Wright.” he finished, lightly kissing her.

Piper kissed Luke back, and stood up. “That’s… understandable.” she replied. She looked back at Luke, who was staring deeply into the fire. “Blue…” she called quietly. Luke brought his gaze to meet Piper’s with a glazed expression. Piper jerked her head towards the couch. “Let’s go to bed.” Luke nodded wordlessly and stood up. He picked up his mostly cleaned vault suit and began putting it back on. When he caught Piper’s slightly disappointed look, he extracted his arms from the sleeves, leaving his chest bare. He then tied the arms around his waist. Piper nodded approvingly, a smile spreading across her face.

Luke picked up his holstered pistol and knife and strapped it to his thigh. Briefly kneeling back down, he undid the clasps holding his sleeping pad in place. Unfolding the pad, he removed his wool blanket and stepped over to the couch. He situated himself in a way that would allow him to draw his pistol if needed.

“Well?” He asked, looking at Piper. He patted the back of the couch as he nestled more into the crook between the armrest and back. Piper sat down and snuggled into Luke, her head going into the space between his head and his shoulder. Luke winced as Piper pressed into his formerly broken collarbone.

“I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Piper asked, sitting up.

“It’s fine.” Luke answered wearily. “It doesn’t hurt, but it feels like it should. Does that make sense?” Piper shrugged and nestled her head back into Luke.

“It makes sense.” she mumbled as she placed her hand on Luke’s chest. In response, Luke draped his left arm over Piper’s shoulders and began absentmindedly playing with her hair as he pulled the wool blanket over them. Piper almost purred in content, cuddling deeper into Luke. 

“You’re super warm.” Piper mumbled sleepily. Luke chuckled softly.

“Is that so?” he asked, stringing Piper’s hair through his fingers. With a sigh, Piper nodded as best as she could. Several moments later, her breathing deepened and evened out, indicating that she had fallen asleep. With a faint smile on his face, Luke’s eyes slowly drifted shut and sleep overtook him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize now that I end a lot of these chapters with characters falling asleep/passing out. I need to be better at making that the exception than the rule...  
> 06 FEB 2020: Fixed some editing mistakes


	8. A Matter of Payment

The sound of life outside the house woke Luke before Piper. She was snoring softly on his chest, her hair a mess. He felt surprisingly rested, despite the mildly awkward position he was stuck in. With a groan, he attempted to stretch without disturbing the sleeping reporter on his chest. The attempt failed, however, and Piper’s head lifted up suddenly, her eyes bleary.

“Wha’s going on?” she asked, her voice loud and groggy. “ You still there, Blue?”

“Yes, Miss Wright. I haven’t gone anywhere.” Luke answered quietly.

“Okay.” Piper groused, closing her half-open eyes and lying back on Luke’s chest. The Lone Wanderer sat up and placed his left ankle on his right knee, causing Piper’s head to fall into his lap. She growled in dissatisfaction, but seemed to quiet down when Luke resumed playing with her hair.

The two remained there, save for the occasional adjustment of position. At some point, Luke extracted himself from underneath Piper’s head, gently laying her head on the couch. Finally, Piper roused herself slumber, sitting up. A cool breeze blew into the room through the jagged remains of the window, raising goosebumps over Piper’s exposed torso. She wrapped the heavy blanket around herself as she sat up.

“Luke?” she called out softly. When no response came from her travelling companion, she stood up and walked over to the fireplace. The fire had been stoked, and Piper sat down in front of the fire, extending her hands towards the warmth.

“Good afternoon, sleepyhead.” Luke whispered in Piper’s ear. The young woman yelped and spun around, swinging her hand in a backhand motion to try and strike the Lone Wanderer. Luke laughed as he caught Piper’s hand in his. “Easy there, Miss Wright. It’s just me.”

“You son of a bitch!” Piper swore, punching the Lone Wanderer in the chest. Luke winced in mock pain as Piper’s fist slammed into the leather of his vault suit. “You’re lucky that I need you alive to collect Wellingham’s bounty!”

“Is that so?” Luke asked, his eyebrows shooting up in false shock. “I’m just here so you can kill me and steal my paycheck? I’ve been duped by the brainiest raider of all time!” Piper huffed and stood up, a tiny smile on her face for the briefest of glimpses.

With a yawn that morphed into a groan, Piper stretched, raising her arms above her head. “What time is it?” she questioned as she finished her stretch. Luke looked down at the Pip-Boy on his left forearm. He pressed one of the buttons at the bottom of the device before answering.

“Just after eleven fifteen.” he stated. “Someone was super tired.” he winked. Piper groaned again as she bent over and picked up her shirt from where Luke had tossed it. As she put the garment on, Luke strode over to the entrance of the parlor and picked up the bucket of water he had left by the doorway. Within several minutes, he had a boiling kettle of water. “Coffee?” he asked. “I figured that we would eat once we get back into Diamond City.”

“Mmm, yes please.” Piper responded, sitting back down on the couch and reaching for her boots. Luke handed Piper the cup from his mess after a few minutes. Piper took a sip and sighed once more in content. “You certainly know how to make a good cup of coffee.”

“Perk of growing up in a vault. When I got out, I had to learn how to make the stuff out in the wastes… palatable.” Luke chuckled. Piper drained the contents of the cup and handed it back to the Lone Wanderer.

“Well, should we get back on the road?” She asked, stretching again as she stood up. Luke glanced again at his Pip-Boy and shrugged.

“Might as well.” He replied with a half-grin. The two of them quickly set about gathering the rest of their supplies.

The remainder of the trip back to Diamond City was quick and uneventful. There was plenty of banter between the two, which only increased as they drew closer to the city.

“So what are you going to do once you get your caps?” Piper asked. Luke turned to the reporter. She was clutching the larger of the two deathclaw eggs protectively in front of her. Her face was pensive.

“Why do you ask?” Luke questioned back, his tone guarded.

“I’ve met my fair share of mercenaries, Williams.” Piper answered, leveling her gaze Luke’s. “I don’t want to watch you scurry off to god-knows-where just because you got some score and not finish our interviews.”

“So that’s all I’m good for is interviews?” Luke asked jokingly. Piper glared witheringly at the Lone Wanderer before rolling her eyes.

“Whatever. Forget I asked.” she huffed. “Let’s just get back to Diamond City.”

As the pair entered Diamond City, the reporter's body language was decidedly frosty. Luke felt the urge to ask Piper what was on her mind, but a louder feeling strongly advised him to not do that. So, he kept his tongue and resisted the urge to press the matter. As they climbed up the steps towards The Colonial Taphouse, Piper seemed to perk up. Wellingham floated out of the building towards the two. The robot seemed to shake and draw back from the two in revulsion.

“I thought that my olfactory sensors detected an increase in foul odors.” the robot sneered. “Of course, it ends up being the vault trash. Probably rolled in a mole rat’s nest because it looked like a good place to take a nap.” Luke scowled at the Mister Handy.

“Wellingham. I see your personality is just as sparkling as ever.” Luke said, forcing a smile. The robot’s eye receptors swiveled towards Piper. It’s eyes seemed to widen in shock before returning to a normal position.

“And, of course, the rabble-rouser is with the foul-smelling one. Why am I not surprised?” Wellingham groused, his tone sounding shaken.

“It’s okay, Welly.” Piper smiled, her tone hushed. “Your secret’s safe with me.” She finished with a wink. The robotic butler sighed in exasperation.

“Well, then. I assume you’re back, begging on my doorstep because you finished the job I had for you?” Wellingham sniffed in derision. With a nod, both Piper and Luke presented their respective eggs to the hovering robot. Wellingham drifted closer to the pair, extending his manipulator claw to inspect the eggs. With a satisfied huff, Wellingham floated back.

“The specimens are in prime condition. You do good work.” the robot mumbled begrudgingly. “You will receive your full payment of five hundred caps.”

“Now hold on a minute.” Luke started, his tone defiant. “Only five? I think this deserves to be five apiece.” Wellingham rose, seeming to square itself up.

“That is outrageous. I will not pay a cap more than what we agreed upon.” Wellingham shot back, his tone clipped. “Either accept the agreed upon contract, or get out of my sight.”

Luke shifted the egg in his hands to the crook of his left arm and lazily opened his duster, resting his hand on the grips of his pistol. “This can end in one of two ways, robot.” he growled through clenched teeth. “Either you pay me per egg, or I begin disassembling you, one round at a time.”

“Is that a threat, Mister Williams?” Wellingham responded, his tone becoming more angered. His two extra arms extended from his body, his buzzsaw beginning to spin and a burst of flame erupting from the flamethrower. Piper let out an exaggerated sigh and elbowed Luke in the ribs.

“Then don’t pay him a thousand caps, Welly. Pay him the the five you promised and pay me the other five for the second egg.” Piper stated simply. Wellingham’s weapon arms lowered slightly as his eye receptors swiveled on their stalks towards the reporter. An angry and defeated sigh issued from the robots vocal processor.

“I suppose that is an acceptable solution.” the Mister Handy groused. “Not the ideal solution I would prefer, but it is acceptable. You two stay right here and I will be back with your payment.” The robot turned and floated off towards the building. Piper turned to Luke with a scowl on her face.

“You didn’t have to threaten him, Williams.” she hissed angrily. “You can’t solve all of your problems with bullets.”

Luke gawked at Piper as his brain scrambled for something to fire back in response, but he came up empty. Piper turned back towards the recently returned Wellingham. The robot’s eyes narrowed at Luke as it tossed two pouches at the reporter.

“There’s your payment. Now get out of here before I change my mind.” Wellingham scoffed at the Lone Wanderer. Rotating slightly towards Piper, the robot dropped the volume of its voice. “Always a pleasure, Miss Wright. See you next week?”

“Always, Welly.” Piper whispered with a wink as she handed her egg over to the robot. Wellingham floated back into the Taphouse with the egg before returning for Luke’s egg. The robot almost ripped the egg out of Luke’s hands before retreating back towards the kitchen with a disapproving sniff.

Luke’s hands weren’t empty for long, though. Piper shoved both pouches of caps into Luke’s chest. “Here’s your damn caps.” she muttered, pushing past Luke and beginning down the stairs.

“Hey.” Luke called. Piper ignored the young man and continued down the stairs. “Hey.” Luke repeated, more forcefully.

“What?” Piper fired back, spinning on her heel to face Luke. “What more do you have to say right now?”

Luke lobbed one of the cap pouches at the reporter. “Your cut of the pay.” he said simply as the pouch bounced off of Piper’s chest and into her hands. “You handed Wellingham a pristine deathclaw egg, you deserve payment for it.”

“I don’t want your stupid caps.” Piper glared.

“Then don’t take them for yourself. Take them for Nat.” Luke answered. “She’ll always need food and a place to sleep.”

Piper’s eyebrow rose in surprise. “Wait… you’re serious? The whole reason you did this was to take care of Nat and I?”

Luke shrugged. “Yeah. I don’t really need the caps. And I’ve seen more than my fair share of kids who are hungry or who don’t have a roof over their heads.”

Slowly mounting the stairs, Piper came face-to-face with Luke. She studied the Lone Wanderer’s face carefully with narrowed eyes. “You are a big softie, Lone Wanderer.” she mused. She wrapped her arms around the young man’s torso and kissed him squarely on the mouth. The kiss lasted for several seconds before Piper broke away.

“Speaking of Nat, I should probably go get her from Edna’s.” she said, clearing her throat as a blush rose to her cheeks. She turned and hurriedly ran down the stairs. Stopping at the bottom, she turned back to face Luke. “I’ll see you around, Blue?” she asked hopefully.

“You got it.” Luke said, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. And with a large grin, Piper turned and was soon lost to Luke’s sight in the crowded marketplace.


	9. Violence and Mercy

Luke and Piper saw very little of each other the next few days. The two did not have time to see each other, with the two only being able to catch views of the other from across the marketplace or other places in Diamond City.

This was, in part, from the pair’s reluctance to broach the subject. Luke’s head was fighting with his heart. He wanted nothing more than to finally spend time with someone who wanted to be with him, he wasn’t ready to be more vulnerable. So, he did what he knew best; work.

Piper caught Luke by surprise one day as he was exiting Diamond City. “Hey, Blue. Where ya headed?” she asked timidly.

“Out.” Luke shrugged. “I’ve got a job with a caravaneer as a guard. There’s been some increased raider activity along some of their routes.”

“Sounds fun.” Piper’s mouth twitched in a bemused smirk. “Mind if I tag along? Nat is at Edna’s already.”

Luke rolled his eyes dramatically. “It doesn’t really matter what I say, you’ll follow me anyways.”

“Damn right.” Piper chuckled. The pair continued up the steps to the security station, their steps falling in sync. On a whim, Piper reached out her right hand and grasped Luke’s left, intertwining her fingers in his. They looked at each other, their faces growing red. Luke coughed awkwardly, but squeezed Piper’s hand reassuringly.

After the two had picked up their respective gear, they met with a grizzled old man who introduced himself as Jedidiah, but insisted that they call him Jed.

“I reckon you’re the man Zeke hired to run as our guard?” he asked before coughing and spitting a large ball of phlegm onto the ancient concrete.

“It’s just me?” Luke asked, his tone growing hard. Jed shrugged and turned to an equally ancient looking brahmin.

“Guess so. Hope you’re as good a shot as Zeke says you are.” Jed sniffed indifferently.

Luke grit his teeth. “Well then, there’s an issue with my payment. If I’m the only one, I want triple.”

“Triple?” Jed asked loudly. “What, you think we’re made of caps, boy?”

“I was told that I would be paid 600 caps to be part of a three-man guard team. If I’m the only one, I want the payment that would’ve gone to the other two.” Luke said icily, his hand dropping to finger the grips of the pistol holstered on his thigh, a move that was not unnoticed by both Jed and Piper.

Jed took a second to further size up the Lone Wanderer. As Luke held the older man’s gaze, something in his eyes sufficiently warned Jed that Luke was not someone to be trifled with. “Alright, alright. You’ll get 1800 caps. But only once the job is completed.”

“Good.” Luke responded crisply, a smile forming on his lips. Piper noticed that the warmth of Luke’s smile did not reach his eyes, which remained hard. “I hope we don’t have to have this discussion again.” Luke continued.

Jed grumbled under his breath and turned back to securing the pack brahmin’s load. As he did that, Piper elbowed Luke in the ribs and grabbed him by the elbow.

“Is every trip like this going to start like this?” Luke grunted, rubbing the contact point.

“What the hell was that?” Piper hissed. “You didn’t have to threaten the man!”

Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. “Piper, I’m not going to do two other men’s jobs and get paid for just one.”

Piper elbowed Luke again. “So talk it out, like real human beings. There’s an idea.”

Luke sighed again. “Okay. Next time.” he grumbled. The two joined up with Jed and Zeke, and the group ambled off from the main gate.

The group traveled as quickly as they could to the southwest. The main issue was Jed and Zeke. The two wizened men could only go so far at a time, causing the group to stop and rest frequently.

“C’mon… we’re sitting ducks out here.” Luke said as they stopped for the sixth time. They had stopped underneath one of the elevated highways to rest in the shade created by the roadway. Jed and Zeke opened a canteen and passed it between themselves, and Luke unclipped his from his belt, handing it to Piper. She took a swig, reveling in the feeling of the cool liquid sloshing down her throat.

“We need to get moving.” Luke said as Piper handed his canteen back to him, his voice slightly louder than what was necessary.

“Relax, son.” Zeke drawled as he took a swallow from his shared canteen. “You’ll live longer.”

A crack thundered in the artificial canyon created by the overpass. Zeke fell backwards off the hood of the ancient car he was sitting on, the canteen dropping from his hands.

“Ambush!” Jed shouted, diving behind a rock. Luke wrapped Piper in his arms and dove to the ground. Piper yelped in pain as her hands hit the ancient concrete and the wind was knocked out of her by Luke’s weight landing on her. He covered her head with his arms and pressing his forehead into her as more gunfire erupted around them.

“Can you move?” Luke asked Piper loudly. She nodded, still trying to refill her lungs. “Okay. We’ve gotta get behind some cover.” He looked up, scanning the terrain for a place to hide. “C’mon!” he shouted, grabbing Piper’s hand as he stood up and tried to sprint for a pile of boulders.

Piper lurched to her feet and tried to keep up with Luke, gasping the entire way. The pair dove behind the boulders, with Luke pulling Piper on top of him as he acted like a cushion for her fall. The landing was a little easier this time. They laid there for several seconds, breathing heavily. The gunfire had lulled slightly, then a new wave of gunfire erupted. Piper and Luke heard Jed shouting indistinctly.

“You good?” Luke whispered, looking Piper in the eyes. If they had been in a more romantic setting instead of being pinned down by gunfire, Piper might have swooned. Instead, she just nodded.

“Good. Stay here, keep your head down.” Luke grunted, rolling slightly to allow Piper to get off of him. He crouched and removed his knapsack. He rummaged around inside of it for several seconds. When he closed his knapsack again, Piper realized that he had three fragmentation grenades. Luke must have seen her eyes widen, because he gave a wink as he attached two of them to his belt and pulled the pin on the third.

Luke poked his head out from the cover, scanning the area. After several seconds, he lobbed the live grenade in his hand. With a graceful arc, the explosive landed at the just behind a trio of raiders that were approaching where the tiny caravan had been when the ambush had started. Piper heard an explosion and several screams.

The Lone Wanderer vaulted out from behind the boulders, duster billowing behind him and hand on his hat to keep it from falling off his head. He brought his plasma rifle into a firing position, keeping his eye on the aftermath of his grenade. Two of the three raiders who had been caught in the explosion were staggering to their feet, while a puddle of blood was growing underneath the third. Luke squeezed the trigger of the rifle twice, and resulting plasma orbs struck the two raiders square in the chest. One dropped instantly while the other spun from the force before collapsing.

A hammer blow struck Luke in the right shin, knocking the Lone Wanderer off balance. He fell onto his right side hard, his head slamming into the concrete. Several more bullets rained down on him as he laid there, dazed. After what felt like several minutes, which was enough time for Luke to regain some semblance of a clear head, he heard footsteps drawing closer.

“Think he’s dead?” he heard a gruff male voice ask.

“Fucker better be. Did you see how easily he took out Frank, Horrigan, and Jens?” a female voice answered.

“Well, why don’t you check?” a second female voice snarled. “I don’t think you hit anything vital, dumbass.”

A rough kick to Luke’s chest made him to wheeze as the force of the blow resulted in Luke being rolled over onto his back. “Sounds dead. Looks dead.” the man grunted.

“Seriously, Cob, do you know anything? Check his fucking pulse!” screamed the second woman. Luke heard some muttered cursing under the Cob’s breath as he crouched down. Cob placed two fingers on Luke’s jugular vein.

“He…” Cob started. Luke’s eyes snapped open, and he grabbed the raider’s wrist with his left hand as he grabbed the offending man’s throat with his right. Luke swung his legs, catching Cob off balance and knocking him to the ground. Luke released his grip on Cob’s wrist and reached for his holstered pistol and knife. Gunshots echoed as one of the female raiders began shooting, while the other charged the two men scuffling on the ground.

Cob began swinging desperately at the Lone Wanderer with his rifle, trying to break his stranglehold on his throat. Several of the blows landed on Luke’s head and torso, and Luke could feel his grip beginning to weaken. He threw his body weight upwards, trying to keep the raider occupied. As he did, the man yelped in pain as he was hit by bullets from one of his fellow raiders.

As he released Cob, Luke tried to scramble behind any cover he could. Another blow landed on the back of his head with a crack, knocking the Lone Wanderer back to the ground as spots swam in his vision. He rolled over, shaking his head to try and clear his head. He kicked again, and felt his foot connect with something fleshy. The female raider who had attacked him from behind stumbled back, dropping her tire iron and clutching her stomach.

Luke finally drew his pistol from the holster on his thigh. Without hesitation, he fired several shots. One struck her in the abdomen, and another struck her under the eye. The woman crumpled to the ground.

Another hail of gunfire erupted as the remaining raider tried to eliminate the Lone Wanderer. Luke dove behind the wreck of the car Zeke had been sitting on. Zeke was lying on his back, a single bullet wound in the center of his forehead. Luke grimaced, then turned his attention back to the situation at hand. He checked the cylinder of the revolver in his hand. There were two shots remaining in the cylinder, which led to Luke opening an ammo pouch on his bandolier. He had four bullets in his hand when the barrel of a gun pressed into his temple.

“Drop it.” the woman hissed. “Drop it, and you might live.”

“I’ll take my chances!” Luke shouted, lunging at the woman’s knees. The two tumbled to the ground, with both weapons hitting the asphalt with a clatter. With the woman on the ground, Luke rolled away. He drew his knife as he dragged himself to his knees. The raider was trying to drag herself back to her dropped weapon. In desperation, Luke lunged, slashing downward as he did.

The knife plunged into the woman’s back. She screamed, and threw her elbow back, connecting with Luke’s nose. He heard a crunching noise and felt a warmth come flooding out of his nostrils. Blinking tears of pain away, Luke scrambled forward in an army crawl, reaching for his pistol. His fingers brushed against the barrel of the weapon before he was dragged backwards. Luke reflexively closed his hand around his gun before he was flipped over onto his back

“Oh, you’re gonna get it now!” the raider screamed. She had managed to extract Luke’s knife from her back and was standing over him, blood dripping from the blade. As she raised the knife, Luke switched his grip on the pistol, holding it correctly. He fired.

There was no way he could miss. The two remaining bullets tore into the raider, one in her throat and the other in her chest. A gurgle escaped her lips as she dropped Luke’s knife. She slowly sank to her knees before falling on her back. Luke stood up quickly and kicked his knife out of reach of the raider before pulling one round for the revolver out of his bandolier. With an unnerving calm, Luke loaded the fresh bullet into his revolver.

He stepped over to the final raider, who was still gurgling, choking on her own blood from the wound to her throat. Her eyes widened in fear as Luke took aim, drew back the hammer on the pistol, and squeezed the trigger. A single bullet wound appeared in the center of the woman’s forehead and all movement from her ceased. Sighing heavily, Luke holstered his pistol and stepped back. He stooped down and picked up his knife. He wiped the blade on the nearby grass before sheathing it. Once the blade was put away, Luke turned back towards the boulder where Piper was hiding.

Piper had poked her head up over the boulders, much to Luke’s dismay. Her face was ashen and her jaw was slack. Luke felt an overwhelming wave of shame wash over him.

“What? Do I have something on my face?” he asked defensively, wiping his bloody nose on the sleeve of his duster.

Piper shook herself. “What the hell was that?” she asked curtly.

“What was what?” Luke answered nonchalantly, picking up his plasma rifle from where he had dropped it and inspecting it.

“The way you shot that woman!” Piper retorted, the tone of her voice becoming harder. “That was completely unnecessary!”

“And let her suffer?” Luke asked, finishing the inspection of his rifle and slinging the strap over his shoulder. “Because that’s really humanitarian.” He looked Piper dead in the eyes. “Would you rather let her suffocate in her own blood or let her die more quickly?” Piper opened her mouth to fire off a response, but decided against it. Luke saw the moment of hesitation and took a deep breath.

“Look, out here, there’s no mercy. I grew up being taught by my father that the greatest thing I could do was show someone mercy. I could try and change the Wasteland for the better, but none of that matters if there’s no mercy. So, the only thing I can do is give out what mercy I can. And sadly, it almost always means putting someone or something out of its misery.” Luke said slowly. Piper noticed how with each word, Luke’s face seemed to age several years. Heavy lines appeared on his face, and his eyes seemed to recede into his skull.

Piper looked at the Lone Wanderer, a swirl of emotions in her head. She was simultaneously horrified by how casually Luke had dispatched the raiders and thankful for his unwavering defense and courage. She reached out, unsure if she was going to strike Luke or caress his face. Luke took a half step forward before feeling the same apprehension Piper was feeling.

“C’mon, let’s see what we can salvage. See if we can finish this job.” Luke muttered. Piper shook her head.

“First, Blue, we need to take care of you. Sit down.” she said, pointing to a rock. Luke opened his mouth as if to protest, but decided against it when Piper shot him a withering glare. Piper went back to where she and Luke had taken cover and grabbed the Lone Wanderer’s knapsack. Returning to the injured man, Piper set the bag down and opened it. She began rummaging through the bag, looking for a first aid kit. She found the kit in a pocket. The kit was a compact metal box, painted with Vault-Tec blue and logo. As she pulled the kit out of the knapsack, she saw a round Vault-Tec blue object she recognized as a compact makeup mirror.

Focusing back on her companion, Piper opened the first aid kit and pulled out two tampons. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a rag and began mopping up the blood on Luke’s face. Once the blood was cleaned up, Piper opened the tampons and pushed them up Luke’s nose.

“Is this really necessary?” Luke asked, his voice nasally. “Let’s get back to salvaging what we can.”

The pair started searching the area. Luke dragged the raider corpses away from the scene of the fight after searching the bodies for any valuables or ammunition. Luke decided to not bury the corpses, looking up instead to see several crows beginning to circle. Luke returned to the car where Zeke’s body was lying. Piper had closed the man’s eyes and folded his arms across his chest. Jed was lying next to him.

“Jed didn’t make it.” Piper said simply. “I stopped counting the bullet holes after I passed twenty.”

Luke nodded solemnly. “What happened to the brahmin?”

“Dead too. Looks like it happened during the opening shots.” Piper said.

“Shit.” Luke swore. “So much for trying to finish the job on our own.” Piper watched as the Lone Wanderer sat weighing their options. “Alright. Grab what we can off of the brahmin. We can’t finish the job, so we might as well take what we can and get back to Diamond City.”

There wasn’t much they could recover from the dead brahmin. What they did recover were some medical supplies, some ammunition, and clothing. The big score was a satchel of caps, which both Piper and Luke realized contained the payment Luke was denied. After recovering everything they could, Luke dug two shallow graves and placed the bodies of Jed and Zeke in them. Neither Piper or Luke had any words, so the two stood there for several minutes in silence before picking up their supplies and beginning the journey back to Diamond City.

The trip back to Diamond City was uneventful, and the two made it back before nightfall. Luke glanced at his Pip-boy. “Well… I guess I’m gonna head back to The Dugout…” he mused out loud.

Piper looked at Luke. She reached out and grabbed Luke’s hand. “Luke… Stay with me tonight.”

Luke’s face grew red. “Um… Piper…”

“Blue, shut up for a minute. We both had a rough day, and I don’t want to face tonight alone.” Piper said, her face serious. “And frankly, I think you’re the only other person who can understand.” Luke studied the young woman.

“Okay. I’ll spend the night.” Luke said.


	10. Nocturnal Activities

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> EXPLICIT CONTENT

Piper pulled Luke through the door of Publick Occurrences and flicked a light switch. Several bare light bulbs flickered to life. “Make yourself comfortable.” Piper said, shrugging her jacket off and hanging it on a coat rack.

“Thanks.” Luke said, sitting down on the couch after removing his knapsack and placing on the floor and removing his duster and placing it on the coat rack next to Piper’s jacket. He began removing his armor pieces and stacking them neatly after thoroughly inspecting them. He groaned as he noticed that several pieces of his armor were either in need of serious repair or replacement.

After Luke had removed all but his vault suit, Pip-boy, and hat, he stretched out and laid down on the couch. Pulling his hat down over his eyes, Luke began to settle.

“Excuse me?” Piper called from across the room. Groggily, Luke tipped his hat back to see Piper standing at the base of the stairs, wearing nothing but a pair of shorts and her bra. She had undone her ponytail, allowing her ebony hair to hang to her shoulders.

“What?” Luke grunted, feeling a blush rise in his cheeks.

“I said I don’t want to spend the night alone. You on the couch leaves me alone.” Piper replied with a wink. “So, get up there.”

Luke screwed his eyes shut, feeling the day’s exhaustion sit in his bones. He sighed, then rolled off of the couch. He left his hat on the couch and padded over to the stairs. Piper began to make her way up the stairs, and Luke followed her.

Piper’s room was more of an open loft, barely big enough to fit a dresser and bed. “Sorry, it’s not much.” Piper said sheepishly.

“Don’t worry about it.” Luke answered gently. “It honestly looks more comfortable than what I’m used to.” Piper smiled shyly and pulled the covers back on the bed before climbing into the bed. She patted the bed and Luke sat on the mattress. The springs creaked in protest as he sat on the edge of the mattress. Luke chuckled as Piper blushed furiously. “You’re fine.” he smiled.

Luke removed his Pip-boy and placed it on the dresser before lying down. Piper nestled her face into the crook of Luke’s neck and sighed in contentment. Her breathing evened out and soon she was asleep. Luke laid there for several minutes, allowing Piper’s breathing to lull him to sleep.

***

A large jerk from Piper woke Luke from his sleep. She twitched again, striking Luke in the chest. As Piper quivered in her sleep again, Luke grabbed her by the wrists.

“Piper!” he hissed. “Piper!” he repeated as he shook the young woman. Piper’s eyes snapped open.

“Wha…” she said loudly, a bewildered look on her face. Her eyes widened as she laid eyes on Luke. “Luke? What’s going on? Why are you in my room?” she asked, her voice beginning to border on hysterical.

“It’s okay.” Luke murmured, placing Piper’s hands on the sides of his face. “It’s okay.” he repeated. “Remember you asked me to spend the night with you?”

Piper nodded, the fear in her eyes subsiding slightly. She tried to pull her hands away Luke’s face, but Luke firmly held her hands in place.

“What happened?” Luke asked gently. Piper tried to avert her eyes, but Luke adjusted his position to keep himself in Piper’s view. “Talk to me.” Piper shook her head again.

“Piper, I can’t help you unless you talk to me.” Luke stated firmly, releasing Piper’s wrists and carefully taking her face in his hands. Piper remained silent for what seemed too long. “Piper?” Luke asked quietly.

“Nightmare.” Piper whispered fearfully.

“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Luke encouraged. “What happened in it?”

Piper shuddered and closed her eyes, trying to avoid Luke’s gaze. Luke waited patiently for Piper to cooperate with him. She opened her eyes after a few minutes and saw Luke looking at her with concern written on his face.

“I… had to watch my dad die. I… I didn’t see it happen, so when I have a nightmare… well, I see all of the ways it might’ve happened. And no matter what I do, I can’t save him. In life, or in my dreams.” Piper answered haltingly.

Luke stiffened as the vision of his own father collapsing against a bulkhead of Project Purity, begging for him to run for his life from Enclave soldiers. Luke grit his teeth and focused on Piper, shoving the uncomfortable memories to the back of his mind.

“I understand.” Luke choked out. “Trust me. I understand.” Luke pressed his forehead into hers, staring deeply into Piper’s eyes.

“I know you do.” Piper whispered. Her eyes searched Luke’s face hungrily before pulling it to hers and kissing him passionately.

Luke returned the kiss, pulling Piper close to him. Piper moaned in satisfaction, tension in her body melting like ice cream on a hot August day. She pressed her lips to Luke’s with an increased passion, her tongue extending outwards and probing the Lone Wanderer’s mouth.

Luke responded by reaching for the clasp of Piper’s bra, unhooking it with a deft move. “Oh?” Piper asked between kisses before pulling the offending garment from between them and tossing it over her shoulder. She reached and tugged on the zipper of the Vault 101 jumpsuit. Piper ran her fingers up Luke’s torso, feeling muscles tense and relax under her touch, ridges and grooves from various scars that dotted his torso. She continued up the Lone Wanderer’s torso, hands traveling over his shoulders and gently pushing the jumpsuit away from Luke’s body.

Luke sat up slightly as he shrugged and tugged in the cuff of his sleeve, fully removing the jumpsuit from his torso. Piper seized the vault suit at the waist and pulled it down to Luke’s ankles, allowing him to kick the garment to the floor. Piper could see the crotch of Luke’s boxers tenting. She bit her lower lip, and then brushed her cheek against the ridge, making sure that the Lone Wanderer let her warm breath through his underwear before pushing her body up his. She made sure her breasts passed over his dick, and she was rewarded with a groan of pleasure from the Lone Wanderer.

Luke responded by rolling Piper and himself onto their sides while holding Piper just above her hips. The reporter responded by pressing herself more closely to Luke pelvis first. She began grinding on Luke’s crotch, drawing herself up and down his erect member. Luke groaned again.

“Oh? Do you like that?” Piper grinned wickedly. She pushed herself away from the young man and pulled down her panties. Luke’s senses seemed to snap him back to what was happening as Piper straddled his right leg.

”Piper…” he gasped, feeling his heart pound in excitement as he viewed his bedmate’s naked body. “We shouldn’t be doing this.”

Piper did not respond right away. Instead, she seized Luke’s erection through his boxers. With her other hand, she grabbed Luke’s right hand and placed it between her breasts. Luke could feel Piper’s heartbeat with his palm, a sensation that added to the already electric feeling he had from their physical contact.

“Blue…” Piper whispered. “Shut up.” She leaned over and kissed Luke forcefully, and Luke felt something click in his soul. He gently removed his hand from between Piper’s breasts and slowly traced down her body with one finger. When he reached her crotch, he hesitated slightly before tracing his index finger over her vagina.

Piper shivered slightly from Luke’s gentle touch, placing her hands on his chest. This spurred him on, and he repeated the motion, this time applying enough pressure to part her lips and feel inside her. Piper gasped at the sensation as Luke kept his finger just inside her lips and began rubbing the length on her opening. “F...fuck, Blue…” she moaned, a blush rising in her cheeks.

Luke heard Piper’s reaction and kept his rhythm nice and steady, enjoying the sounds of Piper’s moans and the sound his masturbation of her was making. Absentmindedly, he extended his thumb and brushed it against Piper’s clit.

“Oh fuck… oh god…” Piper moaned loudly, her arms nearly collapsing and dropping her on top of Luke. She began to move her hips back and forth with the rhythm of Luke’s stroking, large shivers running through her body when his thumb would gently rub her clit. “Luke… I need more…” she whispered between gasps. One of her hands moved to the waistband of Luke’s boxers and tugged at them. She was able to pull them down low enough to free Luke’s erection, which stood up like a flagpole as soon as it was freed from its cloth prison.

Piper lifted her leg and placed it on Luke’s side, fully straddling him. Holding Luke’s cock with one hand, Piper arched her back and lifted her hips as she pushed his hand away from her slit. She positioned Luke correctly and began lowering her hips. As the head of Luke’s shaft brushed against her folds, Piper felt a surge of electricity course through her body. She pushed her hips down slowly, feeling the Lone Wanderer’s penis part her folds.

Luke gasped as Piper began to push him inside her. The sensation of the heat and lubrication almost made his eyes roll back in his head in pleasure. Piper’s face contorted in pain as she took more of Luke’s dick in her. “Are you okay?” Luke asked, concerned.

“Fine.” Piper grunted. “Just hurts a little getting it…” Suddenly, Piper dropped her pelvis, and took the remainder of Luke’s length inside her. Piper sighed, feeling like a piece she did not know was missing had slid into place. She placed her hands on either side of Luke’s head as he groaned, the sensation of being enveloped by Piper’s warmth causing him to arch his back.

Piper began sliding back and forth, her tunnel massaging the length of Luke’s dick. She moved forward until it felt like Luke would pop out of her, then push back down until his entire shaft was buried hilt deep in her. Luke placed his hands on her hips.

“Fuck, Ms. Wright…” he groaned. “You feel amazing…”

“And you… fit me so well…” Piper moaned in response as she bottomed out on Luke’s penis and stayed there. She bit her lip and leaned down next to Luke’s ear. “Please… don’t hold back.” She whispered as she kept herself completely impaled on Luke’s member and began rocking her hips back and forth.

That sent Luke over the edge. He felt a pressure build at the base of his penis that surged forward and erupted out of him. Piper threw her head back and moaned throatily in pleasure as she felt the heat blossom from the Lone Wanderer. Her pussy clamped around Luke’s dick as she kept grinding, harder and harder, until a wave of euphoria fell on her like a tidal wave on the coast. Gasping, she fell onto Luke’s heaving chest. “Oh god, oh fuck…” she whispered, her mind numb.

“Right?” Luke wheezed. Piper looked up from Luke’s chest. He craned his neck and kissed her forehead. “Feeling better?

“Loads.” Piper moaned, arching her back. This caused Luke to slowly slide out of her, causing both of them to shiver in pleasure. Luke felt something wet and sticky land on him as Piper rolled to his right, intertwining their legs. She snuggled into Luke, and for the first time in a long time, Luke felt happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 06 OCT 2020: Minor editing fixes


	11. [Detected]

Piper awoke with a start. She was alone in the bed, something she definitely did not plan on. She drew the blankets around her and groaned. Last night had been wonderful, but now Piper was feeling like a fool.

“Way to go, Piper. Just fuck one of the biggest heroes in the Wasteland and expect him to stay.” She groaned again.

“I told you, I’m not really a hero.” Groused a voice from the foot of the bed. Piper sat up, pulling the blankets to protect her modesty as she blushed scarlet. Luke was standing at the foot of the bed with a plate in his hands. He was wearing his vault suit tied off at his waist and a tank top. His hair was a mess and he was shifting his weight uneasily, but Piper thought it was cute how awkward he looked. Luke cleared his throat and stepped onward. “Um… I made you some breakfast.” He coughed as he handed Piper the plate. He coughed again and mumbled something Piper realized was “hope you enjoy your breakfast” before turning and heading downstairs. Piper turned to the plate of food.

The meal on the plate consisted of some scrambled eggs, tato hash browns, and sliced mutfruit. She speared some of the eggs with the fork that was lying across the plate and placed the morsel in her mouth. She was pleasantly surprised by how well the eggs had been cooked, and tucked into the rest of the meal. When she was done, Piper placed the plate on the night stand and stood up. She padded over to the bathroom just off of her bedroom.

After she had finished, she re-entered the bedroom and got dressed. An old pair of pre-War jeans that had somehow survived almost 200 years after the end of the world and a white-gone-grungy-gray Nuka-Cola t-shirt was her outfit of choice. Glancing in a cracked and dirty mirror, she decided to simply pull her hair back in a ponytail. Descending the stairs with the dirty breakfast plate in her hands, Piper saw Luke sitting on the floor in front of the couch, legs crossed. He had his shotgun meticulously disassembled and was thoroughly cleaning and servicing each piece.

Piper felt a wave of anxiety sweep over her. She didn’t know how to broach the subject of what had happened between them, and her ability to draw conclusions from what facts as they were presented to her had shifted into overdrive, and she was beginning to jump to conclusions. So, she stood there, awkwardly trying to decide if she should just push past Luke to go to the kitchen or run back upstairs.

“Sleep well?” Luke asked calmly from the floor, not looking up from his work. Piper made a choking noise as Luke’s comment ripped her back to reality. Luke lowered the receiver of his shotgun and wire brush and looked at the rapidly reddening reporter. “Was breakfast okay?” He asked, his own face beginning to turn rosy.

“Fine!” Piper said, her voice sounding strangled. She dropped her gaze and almost sprinted the short distance between the stairs and the kitchen. After Piper was in the kitchen, Luke sighed. He expertly reconstructed the shotgun, checking the recently installed barrel before standing up and walking to the kitchen. He entered and leaned up against the ancient refrigerator, He watched Piper clean and reclean the plate and fork, avoiding making eye contact with Luke. The Lone Wanderer, unbeknownst to Piper, was struggling in the same way she was. 

“So…” Luke choked out. “About last night…”

Piper visibly tensed, and her mind began racing through all of the possibilities. “Yeah?” She asked carefully.

“Um…” Luke hemmed and hawed. “Last night was… well, really good.” he grinned sheepishly as he felt his face flush. “I haven’t felt that way since…. Well…”

For a brief moment, Luke’s vision of Piper was replaced with the visage of another woman. Amata smiled ruefully back at Luke. The Lone Wanderer felt his attention focusing on Amata.

“He… Hey.” Luke stuttered. Amata stepped closer to Luke.

“Hey back.” Amata answered softly, reaching out and stroking Luke’s cheek with a thumb.

“What are you doing here?” Luke questioned, pressing his face into Amata’s palm.

“I’m always wherever you are. You’re a big part of me, and me for you.” Luke noticed that even though Amata was smiling, tears were beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

“But why here? Why now?” Luke asked.

“It’s time.” Amata said simply. “We can’t be holding each other back. As long as you keep comparing what happens now, you’ll never be able to grow. What we had was beautiful. But you need to let me go.”

Luke hung his head. “You’re right.” he murmured. “I’ll always love you, Amata.” He felt a gentle pressure on his lips as Amata kissed him.

“And that’s okay. I’ll always love you, and you know that.” Amata whispered, her voice cracking. “Now, go on. Explore the world and build your legacy.” She kissed Luke again, and stepped away, her hand dropping from his face.

“You okay, Blue?” Luke shook his head, realizing that he had dissociated from his conversation.

“Wha…?” he asked, trying to reorient himself.

“I asked if you’re okay. You spaced out there for a second.” Piper replied, studying Luke’s face. “You were thinking about Amata, weren’t you?”

Luke opened his mouth to protest, but Piper held up a hand to stop him. “I get it, Luke. You don’t just get over someone like that.” Piper sighed and stepped away from the sink. Luke reached out and grabbed Piper by the arm. The reporter wheeled on her heel with a glare that could burn through power armor.

“You’d better let go, Mister Williams.” She hissed, her eyes narrow and full of hurt. Luke released Piper’s bicep.

“Okay. Yes, I was thinking about Amata.” Piper rolled her eyes as Luke tried to explain. “But it’s not like that!” Piper’s eyebrow arched.

“Piper… I don’t know how to explain it…” Luke stuttered, dropping his gaze from Piper’s withering glare. “But just then… I had a realization… I can’t change my past. While it shaped who I am, it does not define who I am.” Luke looked up and met Piper’s eyes again. “But as corny as it sounds, as cheap and cliché as it may be, but I realized that I can’t continue to let my life be controlled by people I once knew.”

Luke held Piper’s gaze and watched as she scanned his face, eyes still narrowed. “Okay.” She said after several minutes, her gaze softening. “But I think we should probably take a step back from… well, what happened last night.”

Luke nodded slowly, feeling like a weight had been removed from his heart and promptly hung across his shoulders. “Agreed. While it happened, we need to take some time to figure out exactly where to go from here.” Piper nodded.

“That sounds good to me.” Piper replied, nodding somberly. She extended her hand. “Friends?”

Luke gripped Piper’s hand as if showing too much emotion would cause the appendage to detonate like a hand grenade. “Friends.”

* * *

Luke soon left Piper’s place, making sure he had cleaned up all of his mess. He stepped out of the door, his knapsack hanging off of one shoulder. Pulling the brim of his hat down low, Luke walked down the street. He scowled, causing several citizens of the city to give him a wide berth. He entered The Dugout Inn and sulked back to the room that he was still renting. Yefim had given him a discount on the room after the first week, insisting that Luke was one of the best tenants they had ever had.

Luke unlocked the door of his room and stood in the doorway. With a groan, He placed his bag inside the door, then pulled it shut. Slinking to the bar, Luke sat in one of the barstools and leaned against the bar

“Ah, my favorite friend!” Vadim Bobrov walked up to the Lone Wanderer, a cheery smile on his face. “What can I get for you?”

“Something strong.” Luke sighed heavily. Vadim stood and studied the angry young man for several seconds before nodding in understanding.

“It is troubles with a lover, isn’t it?” the Russian stated rhetorically as he pulled a bottle and two glasses from under the table. The large man placed both on the bar. Luke glowered at a spot on the bar before nodding grudgingly. Vadim tutted, uncorking the bottle and pouring two portions into the open glasses. He handed one of the glasses to Luke.

“тебе мой друг.” He said, clinking his glass with the Lone Wanderer’s. “To you, my friend.” Both men swallowed the contents of their glasses in one swallow. Luke gasped from the briny taste of the alcohol.

“Good god, Vadim, is that just saltwater mixed with pickle juice?” he asked incredulously, grabbing the bottle to inspect it. Vadim chuckled and slammed his glass down.

“That’s the best moonshine in the entire Commonwealth!” Vadim replied, gesturing to the bottle. “Keep it. It’s on the house, my friend. You’ll make it through.” And with that last bit of wisdom, Vadim walked down the bar to serve other patrons. Luke poured himself another glass of the booze and quickly drained the glass again. Looking intently at the bottle, Luke decided to forego a third glass of alcohol. Instead, he sat at the bar, laying on his forearms and listening to the hustle and bustle of the bar as the effects of the alcohol settled on him.

Vadim came asking down the bar after finishing serving the other patrons. He leaned on the other side of the bar. “Two drinks too much for you?” the Russian joked.

“I don’t want to get too drunk.” Luke slurred slightly in response. “I want to be drunk, not dead from alcohol poisoning.” Vadim threw his head back and roared with laughter. Luke winced slightly at the volume.

“That’s a funny joke! You’re already getting over your troubles!” Vadim chuckled. “Now, get out of the bar. You’re taking up space for other customers.” Vadim grinned and walked back down the bar. Luke groaned and stood up from his seat, head swimming slightly from the alcohol. He clutched the bottle and staggered back towards his room, collapsing on the bed and letting darkness overtake him.

* * *

Luke wasn’t sure what woke him first: the pounding in his head or the pounding on the door to his room.

“Fuck, I’m awake!” he shouted groggily. He sat up, almost falling back on the bed as a wave of pressure slammed into his head like a sledgehammer. Squinting as he stood up, Luke stumbled to the door and cracked it open. Yefim Bobrov was standing outside of the doorway.

“I have a message for you. I’m sorry if I awoke you, but it is an urgent matter.” the Russian handed the hung-over Lone Wanderer a folded piece of paper. Luke grunted and grabbed the paper from the large hotelier. He snapped the door shut and walked back to the bed. He flopped down and opened the note.

_ Mister Williams, _

_ I’ve recently heard about your arrival here in Diamond City from a mutual friend of ours. I know that you have been working odd jobs here and there around the city, and I have a job offer for you. Why don’t you swing by my office and we can get to work? You can’t miss the neon sign in front of the place. _

_ Sincerely, _

_ N. Valentine _

Groaning and swearing under his breath as another wave of headaches swarmed his brain, Luke checked his Pip-boy and saw that it was already after ten o’clock in the morning. He had slept for just over 24 hours.

“Shit, that moonshine is some powerful stuff.” he cursed aloud. “Gotta avoid that stuff in the future.”

Luke reached for his pack. After rummaging around the contents of the bag, he withdrew a vial of Med-X. Pulling the collar of his Vault 101 suit aside, Luke jabbed the needle into the side of his neck after removing the safety cap. Depressing the plunger a quarter of the way, Luke felt the pressure in his head numb slightly, enough to make moving his head less painful. Sighing in relief, he sat up and waited for the room to stop spinning. He grabbed a pair of sunglasses off of the nightstand, and exited his room.

After stopping at the bar to grab a Nuka-Cola from the waitress, who he vaguely remembered had the name of a color, Luke began winding his way through the city. He nursed the drink slowly, the effects of the Bobrov’s moonshine on his mind.

Making a right turn at the schoolhouse, Luke saw the pinkish-red glow of a neon arrow pointing down a street labeled Third Street. The arrow indicated that it belonged to a Valentine Detective Agency. Luke groaned internally, contemplating turning around and going back to The Dugout Inn and sleeping his hangover off. The possibility of this Valentine character being a bumbling wastelander, pretending to be a detective hung heavily on Luke’s mind. But, Valentine had sent for him, so Luke figured it was polite to at least stop by and see what Valentine actually wanted.

Taking the final swig from the Nuka-Cola bottle, Luke tossed it in a nearby garbage can as he approached the door to the Agency. With a sense of tension, he grabbed the door handle of the Agency and entered.

The office was cramped, but felt cozy. The smell of coffee and stale cigarettes blended into a strangely heady scent that relaxed Luke. As he stepped further into the office, it looked more like what Luke expected a detective’s office to be: well organized and tidy. Even the ancient cardboard boxes that sat on top of several of the filing cabinets were neatly arranged, with folders clearly organized. Luke let out a low whistle as he removed his sunglasses.

“Yeah, it’s not too shabby.” came a baritone voice from behind Luke. The tone was appreciative, but something about it sounded slightly off to the Lone Wanderer, and he couldn’t quite put his finger on why. He turned around and his eyes widened in surprise.

“Nick Valentine. Pleasure to meet you in person.” The being in front of Luke intoned, offering a battered right hand to the Lone Wanderer. Luke took the offered hand in a handshake, surprised that the hand felt warm and soft to the touch. Yellow eyes flicked up and down, scrutinizing the Lone Wanderer.

“You’re a synth.” Luke said, surprised that his voice was as even and strong as it was. One of Valentine’s artificial brows raised in surprise and his mouth twitched in a half smile.

“Not bad, Mister Williams.” Valentine said approvingly. “People are generally more scared by my appearance than you are.” Nick gestured for Luke to sit in one of the chairs across from one of the desks. Luke obliged, and Nick walked around to the other side and sat down. Luke took an opportunity to study the synth. A large gash ran down the left side of the synth’s face, exposing wiring and a metal jaw. Several other holes in the synthetic skin revealed various subsystems and framing. He was easily at least a decade or two old by Luke's estimation.

Valentine opened up a drawer in his desk and withdrew a thick folder, dropping it on the desktop. It hit the table with a heavy slap. “You’ve got one of the most interesting histories I’ve ever read.” Valentine said, his tone impressed.

Luke’s eyes narrowed, looking at the file. “You seem to have a lot of information on me, Mister Valentine. I’ve only been in town for three weeks.” He looked up at Valentine, suspicious of the synthetic man. Valentine shrugged and leaned back in his chair, propping his feet up on the desk.

“Most of this is just rumors and conjecture about who you are and what you’ve done. Word travels pretty quickly from traders and caravaners from the Capital Wasteland. It would seem your reputation precedes you.” Valentine said, stretching. Luke figured it was an unconscious action, as he figured the synth had no biological musculature. Luke leaned back in his own chair, studying the old synth.

“So why am I here?” Luke asked. Nick chuckled and took his feet off of his desk and sat forward.

“Well, technically, you’re the one who walked through my door, so that would be why you’re here.” Valentine said, a small grin playing on his lips. “But that’s not why I asked you to come in.” He gestured to the file. “From what I’ve heard from merchants and a certain reporter friend, you’re pretty smart and capable of defending yourself.” Valentine stood up and walked over to a coffeepot and poured two mugs. He handed one to the Lone Wanderer before sitting on the edge of the desk. “Long story short, I need help. I’ve been working a missing persons case that involves a Vault Dweller such as yourself. The individual was part of a trading expedition from a nearby vault, and they haven’t been back in two weeks.” The detective took a long draw from his coffee cup. “The thing was only supposed to be a three day trip.” Valentine finished, setting his cup down.

“So you want a former Vault Dweller’s experience of being outside a vault to help you find them?” Luke asked, feeling both beaten down and intrigued. Valentine nodded his head.

“That, and I want the opportunity to see you in action. So… what do you say?”

Luke sat for several seconds before extending a hand towards the synth. “Deal.”


End file.
